15 Practical Budgeting Tips 

1. Create a Zero-based budget 2. Budget together (especially if you are married) 3. Budget every single month 4. Start with the most important categories first 5. Pay off your debt 6. Don't be afraid to trim the budget 7. Make a schedule 8. Track your progress 9. Create a miscellaneous category 10. Cut up your credit cards 11. Use cash where you overspend 12. Use an online budgeting tool 13. Quit the comparisons 14. Set goals 15. Give yourself grace

You're so likable on camera, i watched the entire video for entertainment purposes only lol. Im a budgeting nerd

Since my husband and I got out of baby step 2 I was like heck no I’m not budgeting anymore.. I thought of it negatively . But when I listened to you say it gives you permission to spend I decided to do the budget monthly again and it has been SO much better! No more worrying “am I spending too much?” “Can I spend more?” And now I can clearly look and say yup I have more money budgeted & can get it! No worrying!! Looovvveeeeee your show !

This is my first time using a zero based budget I have never heard of it before Dave’s show and man it’s a game changer in how I manage my money and finances watching it hat I spend

I keep a checking account cushion to cover any Miscellaneous, non-emergency items... like unexpected dinner plans or a sale on Meat!!

1. I love how excited you are when talking about money 2. These practicals were all super helpful, I think the giving grace and comparison were the most helpful for my situation

I agree with all you are saying…I am 55 and a widow of 17 years. I work at a Christian school and make 20,000 yearly as a paraprofessional. I teach piano 2 nights a week and make around 700.00 per month. I have an autistic son who is in college online. He is 23 but acts like he is 17. I live with my in laws. They are 77 and 73. They are starting to fail in health. I have a Bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary studies….music and education are my areas of concentration. I am smart, but I do not have the skill set that employers are looking for. I need a higher income because I am around 28,000 in debt between student loans and credit cards…..I feel stuck, defeated, depressed, and drained. I do not answer the phone because I am behind on my card payments. It’s just too much! And to know that I did this to myself….it’s quite painful! I feel like a failure. Thank you for this video. I am going to begin this journey again….

This video is very helpful! As for giving, I am on SSDI and am lucky if I have $5 left to my name at the end of the month with current rent prices as I'm awaiting HUD housing. However, one thing I've learned is that I can give of my time and it's so much more meaningful.

I use my notes on my phone to list out my categories and the dollar amount and adjust in there as I spend with the zero based budget it helps a lot

15:16 I act my wage. I live on approximately 50% of what I make. I don't act my age as I feel approximately 50% younger than I am.

I love budgeting as well. 😂

I used Google Sheets as a sort of check register/budgeting tool. I used to have a system similar to The Budget Mom which worked until I became more confident. Now I budget in my check register as though the money is spent. I know how much is available for unexpected but I also have sinking funds for car repairs, vet bills, etc. It works for me and I taught it to my sister in law who used it when she was getting herself out of debt.

I’m not a millionaire by far. Not yet anyway. I do know a couple millionaires and yes they write down their budget. They bring home a larger paycheck than we do and all that means is they budget with larger numbers. No new cars or fancy things. It’s crazy how much they do together budgeting.

I've tried (and failed) to do a budget for many years. I don't always have the same monthly income, so I thought I was doomed. It makes so much sense to do the budget every month instead of annually.

Rachel literally makes me smile so big!! 😭💖 And Rachel to you & your team: I want you to know that literally all because of YOU, and now a couple months into it, I already fully see the 'fun' aspects of the budgeting!!!! Everything you said is echoing 100% true for me. Thank you again for your soul and for your light, which is helping to change lives more than you could ever know! :)

Both of Us have been unemployed for over 6 months now. All of our savings and emergency fund is gone. Looking for work like crazy. Budgeting has been tough.

Loved this…quick and easy to follow, your wallet looks amazing! I’m on baby step 2 right now so will wait and ask for it at gift time! Thanks Rachel! I love your positive attitude and compassionate heart!

I finished FPU on March 19 and am doing my first budget for April. Since I'm new to this process and don't know how to do it, this has been a really helpful episode. Thanks for this advice Rachel.

1 st baby step Super easy Just had to get into Budgeting videos. Never knew i could do it. Thank you Beautiful an Inteligent lady.

Thank you for your interesting advice

I started getting serious into budgeting about 10 years ago. Now I can't imagine living without knowing where my money is going every month.

I love Rachel's perspective about budgeting. Budgeting puts you in control of your money. This is so refreshing to me because I need to get control of my money. I'm looking forward to changing my relationship with my money.

Great video and tips!

Good information, thanks. I wonder if you can explain it with a spreadsheet and list all your sample categories.

This is very helpful informations, thank you

I've always loved budgeting, but I do a weekly budget as bills and direct debits are different throughout the month. I'm always budgeting 5 weeks ahead though. My issue was I never had an emergency fund until I found this channel, I honestly don't know how I survived this long living week to week!

Great information. I love each new month and especially the new year when I get a clean slate for the budget. I do take annual expenses, divide the amount by 12 and put that amount in a money market so the funds are there when the bill comes due (I keep track of how much is for each expense. no need to panic or adjust my budget). I also list all the repeating charges in my checkbook at the beginning of the month (HOA, mobile phone, term life insurance, the amount going to MM for annual expenses) showing the date the payment is made. This assures me I won’t miss something. We do have a credit card as my husband doesn’t like carrying cash and I believe a debit card did not give you the same protection (this may have changed). The card charged are tracked on our budget sheet and paid several times a month. It’s a compromise I can live with.

I recently started back doing a zero based budget. It makes life so much easier for me. I am salary so my paycheck is the same every time time. I am able to put more money towards debt and I’m able to start back giving. It is such a rewarding feeling and it gets me excited to pay down more debt. I have 40k worth of debt, but I calculated that I can pay that off in about 4 years if I keep my expenses down to just necessities.

Hi Rachel! Just wanted to say that I love using a budget. I just wish I could have been able to during my marriage. (I'm now 77 and my husband is deceased) I hope readers on here will follow your advice because I can't believe I have money to spend all due to budgeting. Before, I always wondered if there would be enough money to pay my bills. I had recently ordered a couple of envelopes from Etsy for my cash but when I saw you had the wallet, I ordered that which is much better to use.

Thank you Rachel, I'm watching this videos and I'm getting motivated and fired up. I'm excited I know God is going to bless me and my family for working on being à good steward with God's money

In order to grow your money, you need to put it in a place where it can earn a high rate of return. The higher the rate of return, the more money you will earn. Investment vehicles tend to offer the opportunity to earn higher rates of return than savings accounts. Therefore, if you want the chance to earn a higher return on your money, you will need to explore investing your money.

I customise things which saves heaps and makes money spray paint glue nails and screws and find second hand things to do up and add things to so it's useful

9:28 OMGGGG yesss!!! My mom has gone into way too much debt behind using a credit card smdh, I NEVER owned a credit card..debit always seemed lovely to me lol

I've learned so much about budgeting throughout the years that now my husband says that I know how to manage every dollar he doesn't feel like he has to be involved. His like whenever you tell the there's no more money left for bills than we'll talk lol, but I have learned so much now I'm able to spend less and pay all bills and still have fun money left to spend that doesn't feel like we are restricting ourselves.

The wallets are so cute, I wanted to get my mom one for Christmas but here in Canada, we need a zippered pouch because we end up with a lot of loonies and twoonies lol I'm using an 18$ one with ziplock like plastic pouches and its been working well so far, I do think it will wear out in a couple years if not sooner though.

I ❤️ practical advise thank you Rachel

Thank you for making this process simple and encouraging. I needed this video! God bless you ❤️

Here's a budget tip fix things yourself and your money will go further. That repair technician can be costly and utube is free. Sure it might take you a lot longer, but it doesn't cost you anything but your time. I just finished replacing the big spring on the garage door and it took me a week to fix.working on it for a half hour to an hour a day. This was very frustrating, but I feel like a huge weight has been lifted and I learned something new. The thing that really was the driver was I didn't want to deplete the $1000 emergency fund.I was getting angry I'd have to pay a technician $700 to $1000. I was able to fix the problem for $92

HomeBudget with Sync is also a great Budgeting App

As soon as I got a job I put some work into figuring out what budget layout worked best for me since I wanted to make sure I had money to spend on crafts while still having all necessities covered lol. I love having a budget so I can give myself permission to spend on fun stuff, plus see where I didn’t spend the money allocated and move it to my future wedding or car fund instead of spending it on frivolity. I found that the Budget Mom’s BBP layout works best for me built in a spreadsheet and tweaked to perfectly fit my situation.

Would love to have the wallet available in the UK xx

Okay we are creating a budget month by month but how do you plan for those expenses that come yearly. Like Property tax (car), or Yearly fee for trash removal

Make stuff and find new uses for recycled packaging saves money and makes day go faster

Watch every episode!

I do the budget and show it to my husband. He asks if we can fit in X. X is something he wants or needs. I put money aside each week for vacations and auto repair. At the end of the year, the money is there.

Hi do you need the full version to have the feature to show you what bills to pay with each check?

I dont see the link for the india wallet in the descriptiorn

I’ve been budgeting and tracking expenses for over 25 years. Helps me feel in control and know what’s happening with our money.

New subscriber 🧚‍♀️ loving all ur tips...just started my budgeting channel and applying that focusing prioritizing important things first like Bills grocery gas miscellaneous and of course added Donate Envelope to give back to the community for Thanksgiving and Christmas ;) :) my income is not high but I got the heart to help and my budgeting little by little I'll raise the money to achieve that goal

Is savings a category for “expenses” within the budget? I don’t understand the zero based budget if you make your expenses go to zero bc then you aren’t saving any money after the month, right? Am I hearing this wrong? Trying to learn. Thanks.

How do you know what is in each “fund” when you’re working from a single checking account and a single savings account?

Of course I love all your tips and everything that you all teach but I just had to say that I love this sweater on you! 😆 💕

How do I purchase your wallet?

You have an perfect frequency voice, it brings peace. I want to change siri to your voice

I live in Canada. I wanted to download the app but it's not available on Google Play in my region 😔 so sad. Great tips though!!

I agree with almost everything that you say.. except for the giving thing which I understand I can probably afford to give but I don't even have enough money saved for my kids to go to college not that I need to pay for my kids to go to college but wouldn't I want to give to my children to go to college to get an education over giving to someone else or something else?

The Budget Girl is on point as usual

Can you print each month within every dollar?

When I got married 20 years ago, I sat down and tried to create a budget. We were combining 2 households both from previous marriages. Suffice it to say, I wasn’t in control of the money or the spending. My husband was an engineer, making a comfortable 6 figures. 20 years later, we have nothing to show for his hard work except to paid for cars. Had I found Dave Ramsey 20 years ago, we would more than likely be multi millionaires today. I’m doing my best to play catch up. Not easy when you’re living on social security.

Appreciate your time and Knowledge! Thank you Ma’am! I have been watching your Dad for years! Bless you all for Helping other and giving Hope!!! ❤️

Here is an easy way to make Pizza Dough 1 Tbs honey, 1 Tbs Yeast, 1 1/2 C Water, 3-4 1/2 cup Flour, or if you use GLFree Flour it depends on where you live. Mix into a ball and let rise for 30 min. roll out and top with topping. then bake at 425 until the dough is cooked and the cheese is melted and light brown.

When is every dollar coming to Canada

So I get paid on commission.. so I have a set amount that my bills r and anything after that goes towards debt pay off.? That way I end up with zero at end?

Having cash on hand has always led to speed spending for me - but I think it’s cool how people utilize cash envelopes and all of that 💜

giving: always time never money

And igo to workshops to learn how to make what I have

What baby step is saving for a house, adding to my down payment. Note: debt free, emergency fund for 7 months, retirement per month plus Roth, monthly budget done for 3 years. Thx.

I have been saving for different home improvements we want and need to make. This year everything has doubled in cost. It’s discouraging. delayed gratification I am okay with. This feels like my money is being stolen.

I found my WHY! I want to be present with my children! :)

9. cut up your credit card i ask the same thing every time. y do they not tell us we can tie our CC to our checking acct. ''i do spend only the amount in my account''.

Luke 6:38 is real! You're right give & it will be given unto u! Then take care of your business!!!

Oh common, now that you have money to budget, it’s fun. 😂

What do you guys recommend when income is fluid and changes every month?

Boom

Please make the every dollar app in Latin America 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Okay I need to know where that shirt is from

The issue with being self-employed is that my money only comes in around the 15th from the month before, so by that time I’ve already had to pay some bills and half of the month is gone. So it’s hard to do a zero-based budget with money that isn’t in my account yet. How do I solve this? Do I budget January with the money that came in December? But where do I store that money until January 1st comes around..?

why is my values not adding up in the totals?

Every now and then I'll budget to zero but my husband gets panicky about having those hard lines and then will completely avoid being involved with our finances for awhile. I usually budget 80% of our income to keep the peace. Any money left over at the end of the period is an extra debt payment so we'll still meet our goals but he wont be anxiously tugging his eyebrows or shaking his leg anytime I mention the budget.

My wife signed us up for dave ramsey University my baby step 1 is making a budget. I have done it but I found rachel cruze videos to help even more find me ways to save money on my budget I am making it part of my life as I am a free spirit and my marriage depends on it.

Yo my budget is so weird It’s like all my money is going into my savings and I have barely anything left in my checkings. Part of it is paranoia about the future and the fact that I don’t trust myself with money. help

Yeppp. Nerd budgeter too 😂

Don't mind me. I'm only here because I love listening to her.

I drive otr and wife and kids are home we can't figure out budgeting and it's frustrating

Wish EveryDollar was available in Brazil 😭

Make what you want you can sell what you can make I make plants out of recycled containers you can start a business or charity or both

My "giving" is giving back to myself by paying off debt

How am I suppose to build credit with no credit card 🤔

If I grocery shop at Walmart how can I separate groceries from miscellaneous items such as washer fluid, wipers and all the other non food minus health and beauty. Do I just do separate transactions and annoy everyone including the cashier?

The mistake I make is planning too far ahead. I fail every time because if something come up or I mis budget it ruins my whole plan! This makes me feel like a failure.

I like the idea of keeping the cash in envelopes to avoid over spending but how does that work in a world where we buy so much online? As a mom of many children I do not have time to go running around to every store looking for specific items so buying online is so much easier. But it's so hard for me to not overspend.

This video was helpful and then wham!!!..it’s a shill for the RC wallet lol…also, I just can’t stop using the CC…I haven’t paid interest in years and I’m one of those people that just like getting the cash back..however little..end of day it’s still something for nothing..and it teaches discipline…of course it’s an issue if you’re missing payments or paying interest then it’s dumb to use them

I have resistance to #10. Amazon is my downfall!

Does a Zero Based Budget work for me, I get paid weekly

What are some ideas for ways to give?

My best budgeting tip is to have a budget.

The budget app is not available in my country India😔

Giving is biblical. Everything belongs to the Lord, yet He only asks for a tenth to be used for the church and missions etc. What an amazing God.

Every dollar doesn’t support my credit union and I have submitted a request twice in the past two years and never even got a reply.

Had the Rachel wallet. Fell apart fast. Unfortunately.