236 of 238 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow! I've finally mastered the art of the budget, January 17, 2002
I had the misfortune to fall in love with a profession that doesn't pay beans. I also have tastes that would be more in line for an heiress. What to do?
Well, what I -did- do was overspend, get myself into credit-card debt, get myself out of it and still not have any idea how to save money or manage a budget. But this great little book changed that.
There's some advice and encouragement from the author here, but that's not the focus here. The focus would be extremely easy-to-use charts that help you plan your spending and keep track of what you actually -did- spend.
It's pretty easy: First, figure out your yearly expenses (the author provides a long list of these to jog your memory). These include car maintenance, professional dues, subscription renewals, haircuts, vet visits -- the whole shebang. There's also a great worksheet that lets you figure out your gift-giving expenses for birthdays, holidays and so on. Add them all up and divide by 12. That's the amount you need to save every month for these occasional expenses. (Why didn't I think of that?)
Then, for each month, there's a one-page worksheet where you figure out what your income will be for the month and what your expenses will be. You can easily chart when you'll get paid and when you'll need to pay your bills.
Finally, there's a two-page worksheet for each month to keep track of what you actually did spend. (It was a real eye-opener for me to realize what I actually spent on snacks each month!)
This is the first time I've every been able to create and stick to a realistic budget, and I have to say that it's pretty awesome. I actually have money left the second week of each pay period now, and I don't have to skip paying one bill so I can pay the others.
Here's a tip that I used to keep track of my budget: I copied it into my planner every week, so after I spent my allocation for, say, dining, I would cross it off. That way, I didn't get confused about how much of my budget for the week I'd actually used.
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103 of 106 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A faithful companion that no one should be without!, February 18, 1999
By A Customer
I've been using Judy Lawrence's "Common Cents" system of budget management for probably the past 12 years or so, and it's made a big difference in how I handle my money. I track all my spending in a notebook (and in my checkbook), and then transfer these transaction details into my monthly Common Cents pages. It's made a huge difference to see at-a-glance where my money is going each month -- and you can't imagine the difference at tax time! All of this tracking takes me maybe 1-2 hours a month, so it's a minimal time investment. And I have no doubt I've saved many thousands of dollars over the years through the discipline and focus over money management that the Common Cents system has instilled. I've recommended it to friends and members of my family for many years; it just works!!
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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding Book -- Easy But Incredibly Thorough, February 27, 2001
By A Customer
After a few failed starts with Excel and even Quicken, the pen and pencil tear-out pages in this book did the trick. The book is so modular and well-designed that you can start whenever and with whatever committment you want.
Do you think that keeping a budget is too hard? Not only is it easy, its especially easy with this book and the relief you feel as you get control of your spending is worth many, many times whatever small effort you put into tracking your expenses.
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