Household Budget Options

Household Budget Options for
Debt Free Living

Creating a monthly household budget is essential to debt management and the overall success of your any Debt Free Living Plan!

Budgeting is really such a simple concept!

Webster defines a budget as: "The total amount of money allocated for a certain purpose." In this case, the total amount of money is "what you earn" and the purpose is "living."

Household budget planning should address just that...

How much money do you have to allocate to your living expenses?
How much are you spending?

If you're like alot of other people, you're spending more than you earn. That's how the debt cycle begins. Debt management is achieved through household budget planning. Like "peanut butter and jelly" they just go together!

If you already have a budget you're ahead of the game. Maybe your budget is not working as well as you would like. Review the following budget options and determine which suits your individual needs the best.

Online Option | Offline Computer Option | No Computer Required Option | Do it Yourself I highly recommend the following household budget options.

Online Household Budgeting Program

Mvelopes Personal

Mvelopes is a very popular on-line household budget option. The monthly fees are very affordable.

Mvelopes introduces a revolutionary spending system that will help you:

Create a household budgeting plan that you can use!
Recover 10% of your income from hidden spending
Always know exactly how much you have left to spend
Instantly know the impact of every spending decision
Automatically track all your purchases
Easily pay ALL your bills online
Effectively manage credit card spending
FREE 30 day no risk trial!

Click here to learn more

One of the greatest benefits of Mvelopes Personal is it's all encompassing financial features.

Mvelopes provides a complete step-by-step getting started tutorial and provides superior customer service. The tutorials make setting up and using the program simple. Simplicity breeds success! At least when it comes to finances.

To find out if Mvelopes is the right program for you, try it for 30 days, free, and I�m positive it will at least help you with ideas for your own plan and give you some perspective on your spending. If you prefer not to make the monthly commitment, simply cancel before your free trial membership expires.

Be sure to download the Free Budgeting E-book while you're there! Yes, my favorite price! Free!

Knowing your Holiday spending is already paid for

If you find that the Mvelope program is not right for you, there are other programs that can be downloaded onto your computer for a one time fee. Some people just feel uncomfortable about handling finances on line.

If you are one of these people or if you just don't have the extra funds for the monthly fees, then a budgeting software may suit your needs.

Budgeting Software for your Computer

YNAB Household Budget in Excel

If you prefer not to do your finances on line or do not want to take on another monthly expense, the Excel Personal Budget may be right for you. This is a one time purchase software developed for use with Excel.

The YNAB (You Need A Budget) Budget in Excel inludes a primer to get you ready for successful budgeting. It includes detailed spending and income records.

YNAB helps you START:

Paying cash for purchases
Living on less than you earn
Getting out of debt
Investing for retirement
Making your money work for you!
Working with your spouse

No Computer Required

The Budget Map

If your not Excel friendly or don't have Excel on your computer then there is another option. Actually, you don't need a computer at all for successful budgeting with Budget Map.

Budget Map is a unique household budgeting system you can carry with you and have access to "while you're making those spending decisions". A paper version of an organized simple to use household budget system.

The BudgetMap system replaces your check register and fits into a normal check book.

$Take it wherever you go
$Stop unwanted purchases
$Immediately see if you are overspending
$Save money consistently

"BudgetMap is compact, tidy, and amazingly effective ... I find BudgetMap to be a unique and useful money management tool. When you consider the price is less than one bounced check, BudgetMap also represents quite a bargain." Mary Hunt - author of Debt-Proof Living and Cheapskate Monthly

Read Reviews of BudgetMap

I started out with my own pencil and paper version but honestly, The Budget Map is so reasonably priced that it's a bargain merely because of the time and work it will save you. Don't forget, your time is valuable! The ease of the plan you choose will be a determining factor in your success.

Still want to do it yourself?

The creation process is a bit time consuming, but if you have to start with pen and paper,like I did, you will be just as successful as long as you stay with it!

You don�t have to have computer software to create your own budget. It is less time consuming if you utilize a budgeting program, but certainly not neccessary.

Create Your Own Budget

I highly recommend that you keep all your financial information in one location.

You can do this on your own with pencil and paper. However, if want or need something more, you can use the services of a professional or purchase tools to make the task easier.

Free Printable Monthly Budget Worksheets

Whatever method you decide is best for you be sure to include a few essential entries in your household budget:

Savings allowance (if possible)
Variable expense allowance
Your total monthly debt payment

Our Debt Free Living Household Budget is designed to include a consistent monthly debt payment, a variable expense allowance, and a savings allowance.

Review the step-by-step creation of your Do-it-Yourself Budget.

Whatever method you choose it is advisable to at least review the concepts and structure of the DFL Household Budget. This will enable you to adapt any system you use to the Simple Debt Free Living Plan.

The Simple Debt Free Living Household Budget is designed to help families become and "stay" debt free!

You will need the amount of your monthly debt payment to include in your household budget.