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I find that one of the most difficult things to do is budgeting income allocation on expenses. I make a decent living but find that I pay my bills and have nothing left over to take care of unexpected expenses. Are there any suggestions on how to budget appropriately and prioritize expenses?

There’s no cookie-cutter solution for this one. All I can do is refer you to a finance blog I visit every now and then, they have a few articles on budgeting.

http://financialbasics.blogspot.com/2006/11/controlling-your-cash-flow.html

http://financialbasics.blogspot.com/2006/11/using-cash-to-stay-within-budget.html

http://financialbasics.blogspot.com/2006/11/personal-budget-planning-tips.html

http://financialbasics.blogspot.com/2006/11/creating-budget.html

http://financialbasics.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-to-simplify-your-living-expenses.html

I think 5 is enough. Anyway, it’s better to have a handful of opinions…

I have struggled and struggled in starting a personal budget is there anyone out there who can help me start a personal budget that I can stick too? Or do you know of any sites that I can go to who will help me in starting a personal budget. Or, maybe a company that specializes in planning a personal budget. Help Please.

first make a list of the monies you make each year (salary, income, alimony, et cetera)… then make a list of the expenses you have (only the must stuff like car payment, food, utilities, sex lubricant)… then subtract the two and as long as you make more than you spend you are okay…

check out quicken.com or yahoo finance for real in depth assistance…

Good luck

I have been using MS money for years to track my spending but find it useless as a budget as it only budgets by the month and I prefer to budget on a two-week (my pay period) schedule.
Can you tell me if Quicken can do a two week budget?

Check out the wikipedia article on personal budget, there are several resources listed there.

You can also find several good articles on ehow.com

I have a fluid budget. I use mint.com to manage my finances (love that site!) and there are places there to enter monthly budgets for each spending category. I don’t have a steady stream of income, as I’m only a student, so I can’t be too rigid with amounts, as it’s always up in the air but it’s still useful to give myself a vague idea of just how many trips out to eat will hurt me, or when I’m getting close on my gas budget and need to start carpooling.

For people with a more steady stream of income, I do suggest budgeting, there is lots of software out there to use (or old fashion notebooks work too). It’s important to be smart with money and work towards your desired level wealth, so keeping an eye on how much is spent on bills, subscriptions, and food each month is a good way to catch money leaks (too much on energy, need to get new windows, excessive magazine costs, need to cut back, or too much on groceries, time to look at coupon books, etc.)

– May
http://personalfinanceforyoungadults.blogspot.com/

I downloaded one from this site:
http://www.sayplanning.com/saygoodcredit/budget_plans/family-budget.html#aa

Its very useful.

Feel free to email me if you can´t download it I have one in my files.

CoinKeeper for iPhone – budget app and expense tracking finally made easy, beautiful and fun!

Start having fun while planning and tracking your personal finances! With CoinKeeper you will add transactions TWICE FASTER than usual, will see state of your home budget on ONE SCREEN including actual and budgeted figures, and SAVE your money along with gaining “stars” and earning “points” to level up your skills.

More http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coinkeeper/id471262606

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Comparing your income to your expenses is a great way to check your spending is on track. See how Xero helps you manage your personal finances. Try Xero Personal for free https://www.xero.com/personal/

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Get your complete financial position in an instant. Xero Personal lets you easily manage your money and see your personal finances in a fun new way.

Try Xero Personal for free https://www.xero.com/personal/

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A quick introduction to how Xero Personal’s goal history can help you keep track of your spending.

See how Xero helps you manage your personal finances. Try Xero Personal for free https://www.xero.com/personal/

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Can anyone recommend a budgeting software/family finance program that is easy to use and that they like very much? Whatever is recommended I will see if I can download it for free on www.download.com Thanks!
Wow thank you Greeter, I never thought I needed a budget. That concept was totally foreign to me. (rolling eyes) My finances is a more little complex than just "Income less expenditures = whats left over." However, thank you for your useless and insulting comment.

Quicken is the best. You can find it at www.quicken.com or any store that sells software. But it is not free.