Friday, February 7, 2014
February 7 - Online Discussion Question 1
or three months, Matt and Emily have been on a zero-based budget. It hasn’t balanced yet. Dave says it takes several months, but they’re discouraged. Emily prepares it and Matt gives input. But they always blow it—usually in eating out, entertainment, or the blow amount. They come to you for help. They think the problem isn’t the numbers, but rather the concept. Explain to them how a zero-based budget works, and what to do when it doesn’t.
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things wont just fix themselves,you need to adjust your budget as necessary until you get the desired result. and if you are spending too much in one area then other more important things don't get payed for. just make sure you dont get discouraged and ditch a budget altogether that never works out
ReplyDeletetravis
"Just keep adjusting the budget until the expenses minus the income equals zero. It's going to take a lot of time to work out, but you've got to work through it."
ReplyDeleteAutumn
A zero-based budget shows where all your money should go, it's not usually the money that's the issue, it's how much money you put towards one part of the budget, like eating out, entertainment, and so on. You must keep constant in adjusting the budget to be sure that your money has a placement, and if you end up with a negative, you must adjust one of the items in the budget list, to a lesser payment.
ReplyDeleteA zero based budget means that every dollar has a name and a place before the month ever begins. A budget does take time in order to start working. The people also need to be held accountable for making sure they stay on the budget. My advice would be to put the categories that they over spend in into a envelope that way they stop using that money when the run out.
ReplyDeleteAdam
They need to adjust where their money is going until they find a balance. Once they figure that out, they should put their money into different envelopes monthly to make sure that they don't overspend.
ReplyDeleteWhen you use a zero based budget, you assign every dollar to a specific place on paper before the month begins. Also, if you need more help, the envelope system works great with this. Using it, you know for sure when you cant spend anymore, because the envelope is empty in that category.
ReplyDeleteStick to the budget and don't overspend in categories. Otherwise you will end up having to compensate for it by reducing what you spend in other more important categories. Also, things don't just fix/work themselves out, you have to make it work for you.
ReplyDeleteWithin the zero based budget, make sure you're following Dave's procedure, making sure you spend all of your money on paper before you start the actual spending, and make sure that the income minus expenses equals zero. Continue to readjust the amounts in each category every month. If you have enough to pay for housing, food, clothing, and transportation, and you continue to overspend in the entertainment or blow categories, adjust the amount allotted to those categories to reflect what you'll actually spend...or maybe you just need to work a little harder on self-discipline.
ReplyDeleteIt might not be working because they're leaving things out. If that's not the case they probably just need to keep working at it and not overspend.
ReplyDeleteeyezik
It is definitely not fun to try to keep on working at a budget, but in order to make it work you have to keep making adjustments. Make sure that the budget is following Dave's procedure (income minus expenses equals zero) and that it is made at the beginning of the month. the biggest problem for this couple is the eating out and the blow categories. Take that money and spread it around in your budget, and then just DO NOT EAT OUT! That will be hard, but it'll be worth it.
ReplyDeleteKeeping with a budget is not always easy, but eventually it will plan out. You just have to be patient and make the budget fit your situation, and keep adjusting it. Just follow Dave's steps and examples. And also try to not eat out and spend money on entertainment every month, you may not like it at first but you have to "Live like know one else, so you can live like know one else."
ReplyDeleteThey need to adjust their budget, figure out how much they want to be spending in those categories and stick to it. the envelope system is helpful for areas that you tend to overspend in.
ReplyDelete