Dec 08 2008
Household Budgeting Spreadsheet From Suze Orman
Ok, how many times have you been like me and made a budget and said we are sticking to it, only to have an unexpected bill come in and the budget fly right out the window? I am hoping Suze Orman’s Expense Sheet will help me solve our household’s eternal budget problems. 
I have my own little Excel spreadsheet and the bills are written down on it, but I think it needs to be more like Suze’s, with all the expenses written down.
We have two main areas where our budget needs more attention. The first is that I don’t factor in things like doctor co-pays or oil changes or haircuts. Those all fall under the category “money left over after the bills are paid” when in reality, those things happen on a regular basis and really need to be included as a bill. If there is no money left over, it means we use other bill money to cover those expenses and, well . . . . you know how that goes.
The second area is our grocery bill. I budget for our weekly grocery/household items trip, and then add 25% to that for all those little extra trips to 7-11 or when we accidentally run out of TP, but somehow we are always running over. I am thinking about trying to make this a cash only area, where we just have a set amount of cash for extras and that’s it.
The funny thing about a budget is when you write it down it always adds up nicely, but when you try to follow it something always goes wrong. Maybe I should call Suze and ask her about this! 
Visit Cheap Eats for most posts on saving on your grocery bill by Angela.
