Budgeting
Last updated: Mon 31-Aug-2026 afternoon
What is a Budget
The concept of budgets is complex and what works for one person does not work for another.
Search the internet and you can find lots of ways that this can happen.
Here are some thoughts but you will have to pick what is correct for you today and then maybe evolve over time.
| Concept | Description | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom Up / Track Everything | Create a list of everything that you will spend money on. Group these items into buckets. Assign a dollar value to each bucket. Track every time you spend against one of these buckets. | Detailed tracking. | Difficult to maintain. |
| Envelope Budgeting | Create a number of envelopes for various financial purposes. Put cash in each envelope when you get paid. Pay your bills from these envelopes. When you run out of money in an envelope, you stop spending in that category. | Clarity on how much you have for a bucket. | What happens when the envelope runs out? |
| Pay Your Self First | Automate your paycheque and banking. Ensure that all the important financial aspects of your life are covered. What is left over is yours to play with. | Automate your critical items. Don’t worry about the smaller items. | Need to ensure that you really have the critical items taken care of. Less clarity into you details. |
And there are likely other ways to budget.
Pick something that works for you.
Gathering Data
If you are looking for your own data on what you spend your money on then most of the bank and credit accounts that you are using likely will have the ability to download the transactions into a CSV file.
- Download
- Put into excel
- Pivot it
- Review
This is not a budget but a retrospective on your spending.
But it can give you some clarity on what actually happened to help plan the future.
Did you know how much you actually spent on boba tea?
Create a System That Can Evolve
Whatever system you create for your budget ensure that it can evolve over time.
Maybe better put ensure that
- You review your budget (maybe when you review your plan).
- Evolve and update if/as needed.
Appendix
Version History
| Date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mon 31-Aug-2026 | Initial version factored out from top level |