Back to Basics Budgeting | My Simple Pen & Paper Setup, by Savvy over 50 on YouTube. 19 min 40 s.
- Video length
- 19 min 40 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Label the three sections of a spiral notebook: monthly budget, daily spending and debt payoff. Keep a cheap monthly planner next to it for bill due dates.
Write your take-home pay for the month at the top of the first page. If you are paid twice a month, split the page into two paycheck columns.
List your fixed expenses under the income: rent or mortgage, utilities, phone, insurance and loan payments. Put the amount and due date beside each one.
Subtract the expenses from your income and write the difference. Move a set amount to savings first, then decide what is left for cash spending.
Start the daily ledger on the next page. Draw columns for date, what you bought, category, amount and running total.
Give each category its own pen colour, such as blue for food, green for fuel and red for fun. Colour each amount as you write it so totals are easy to scan.
Copy every bill due date onto the monthly calendar and mark your paydays. Add a short list of monthly goals and a few habit checkboxes at the side.
For a loan payoff, keep a page showing the balance, the date and each extra principal payment. Make the transfer on the same day each week, for example a Transfer Tuesday.
At month end, total each colour category, compare it with the budget and adjust next month's figures.
Tips and common mistakes
Leave the notebook open on a desk or kitchen counter so spending gets logged the same day, not in a weekly catch-up.
Round each purchase to the nearest whole amount to keep the running total quick and readable.
Start with five or six categories at most, because too many colours makes month-end totals slow to add up.
Keep two spare pages at the back so you can set up next month without rewriting all the headings.
Questions
Do I need a spreadsheet as well as the notebook?
No. The notebook replaces it. If you already use a spreadsheet, keep it for long-term records and let the notebook handle day-to-day spending.
How much should I allow for cash spending?
Look at what you actually spent last month on everyday items, then set a figure slightly below it. Adjust the number after your first full month of tracking.
What if I get paid weekly?
Give each paycheck its own column on the budget page and split the bills across the weeks they are due. The daily ledger stays the same.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
