CK Blog

I have used Quicken to keep track of my spending and accounts for years now. It has worked out fine for me, although I have never been a big fan of its budget component. Its one big plus is that since it ties directly into your Quicken file, it keeps track of your spending versus your budget amounts. Even with that, its was not easy for me to use and let it fall by the wayside.

I came across You Need A Budget probably from No Credit Needed. It is a Excel based budget system that is really easy to use. Even better is the four rules of budgeting that could totally change how you handle your personal finances that is discussed on the site. There is also a Windows verision that is a bit more deluxe although my knowledge of it is limited to seeing some screenshots and a few blurbs here and there that I have read.

This is not an attempt to get affiliate sales, I’m too lazy right now to go signup for the program. =) I am just someone who brought the program and liked it and think others might find it useful, particularly if they are not hardcore budget detailed types.

You may have heard the story over the summer of Steve and Annette Economides, a family of 5 whose frugal lifestyle on a household budget of $35,000 and newsletter of thrifty tips earned them the nickname of “American’s Cheapest Family.” They wrote a book of the same name and after hearing a nice mention of it on Paul Harvey; I put it on my list of books to check out. I finally got my hands on a copy and have to say I was left feeling a little let down after reading it. I breezed right through it, which in this case was not a good thing. It threaded on familiar ground to anyone who has read a little on frugal living. I am not sure if I was just expecting some groundbreaking insight to smack me from reading this book, but whatever it was, I did not get it. Maybe if I reread it and forced myself to really stay with it, it might change my outlook, but it was hard to resist the urge to skim over large parts the first time let alone a second time.

The book is broken up by chapter into major categories such as food, clothes, and medical expenses along with discussions of how to teach kids about money and get yourself out of debt. Their tips are fine, particularly if you are new to the idea of frugal living, otherwise you probably are already familiar with a lot of them.

They do a decent job of talking about shifting your attitudes towards your finances and living and the payoffs of living a thrifty life, it did help to tie everything together and explain why the effort of frugality is worth it. I would have liked them to have gone a little more in-depth in this area, but they hit the high points at least.

All in all, this book is okay I cannot say I had any huge problems with it, it would be fine for some particularly those just starting out in trying to be frugal, it was just not the book for me.