The Life 101 thread a few days ago didn’t come up with much in the way of what I was looking for - specifically texts that give you the lowdown on how to set up a budget.
The reason I’m asking is because I just installed Spb Finance on my PDA, and now I’m running up against the question of how to track things effectively.
So far, the main items I can think of to set up:
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Checking account (This one feeds my credit cards/checkbook/loose cash)
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Savings (Feeds my checking account)
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Credit card (Tracking plastic transactions)
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Actual paper checking (for specific bills that I handle manually, such as phone, car payments, etc)
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Loose cash
The thing that’s getting me is how to track the income along with these, how to reconcile these different items, and so forth. My tiny mind is boggling.
Up to now, what I’ve generally done is to just make sure my checking account and credit card bill are up to date and checks aren’t about to bounce. Haven’t had a problem doing it this way, but as the complexity of my financial situation increases, I find myself wanting to know where all the money’s going when.
I took a look at Amazon, but the sheer number (and mass) of budget/debt management/become a gazillionaire fast! books is daunting.
Financially oriented Dopers, take mercy on me and recommend a good text that will break down the concepts of elementary budget management.