Accounting Paycheck Series

Say Goodbye to Living Paycheck to Paycheck: Reverse Budgeting and the Digital System

Say Goodbye to Living Paycheck to Paycheck: Reverse Budgeting and the Digital System January 28, 20174 Comments

Hi, I’m Kari, creator of Keep it Simple, DIY. I’m a lifestyle blogger with an MBA who blogs about finance, Home & DIY, blogging, and more. My main motto is that if you just try, you will succeed. The key is to Keep it Simple.

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A digital budgeting system utilizes credit cards, checking accounts, online interfaces, apps, and many other technological opportunities.  All your budgeting and tracking is kept in digital form and you are responsible for sticking to your budget without having tangible money to stop you from over-spending.

Budgeting Tools

Envelopes

Envelopes are a great budgeting option for the digital system as seen above in the cash system.  The main difference here is that the envelopes are digital and act mainly as a tracking device rather than a place to hold the money.

The digital envelope budget tracking downloadable is a great tool to use to track your budget one month at a time.  Start by allocating each portion of your paycheck to an envelope and noting the amount allocated on the top of the envelope.  When each bill comes due, note the actual amount of the bill and subtract from the allocated total to determine how much is left in that digital envelope.  Note that throughout the whole process, the funds will all reside in a savings or checking account.

Once you have your amount left, you can transfer the money to and from envelopes as needed.  This envelope tracking system can also be printed to track your budgeting.

Yes, you can use a printed tracking tool while having a digital system such as a bank account for storing your money.

Digital Envelope Budget Tracking
Digital Envelope Budget Tracking

digital-envelope-budgeting-tracking

Check Register

If you are using a checking or savings account to store your money, chances are the bank has provided you with a check register.  This isn’t the best tool for breaking down your budget into separate categories but this is a great tool for making sure you don’t spend more than you have.

Every time you make a transaction, note the transaction in the ledger lines of the check register.  You will always know how much you have left in your account as long as you make sure to note every charge and deposit.

Computer Spreadsheet

Computer spreadsheets are a great way to track your digital funds.  This helps you break down your finances in any way that works best for you.  A computer spreadsheet is by far the most personalized method for budget tracking.

You can find budgeting spreadsheet tutorials here.

Apps/Programs

Apps and programs are also a great way to track digital finances.  Most banks have an app where you can see your funds instantly.  There are also other apps that can connect to your bank and create different graphs and spending charts.

Apps and programs are not as personalized as a spreadsheet and typically only show past finances rather than future finances.  Because of this, it can be difficult to create your budget for each category every month.

On the plus side, many apps and programs take virtually no time and you can see your breakdown of spending and saving instantly.

If you are interested in learning more about apps and programs, do a quick search in your platform of choice.  Example: For apps, search the Windows app store, IOS app store, or the Google Play store.  For Programs, use your preferred search engine.  One of the main programs for personal finance is Quicken which works much like a physical check register but can quickly draw up charts.

 

 

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Hi, I’m Kari, creator of Keep it Simple, DIY. I’m a lifestyle blogger with an MBA who blogs about finance, Home & DIY, blogging, and more. My main motto is that if you just try, you will succeed. The key is to Keep it Simple.

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