˚budgeting series-part 5˚ Assigning $

This week, we are going to assign some of the $ values to the categories. Sound hard? Well, what if I told you that the dollar amounts you assign don't have to necessarily be right? And, you don't even have to look at the income your calculated last week. 

Sound easier? 

Good.

First, take the categories that remain fairly constant each month (by fairly, I mean give or take a few dollars) and write down how much you spend in each one. Yours might end up looking something like this:

Rent $600

Internet $14.95

Saving/Investing $100

Phone $50

Life Insurance $19.50

Rental Insurance $14.00

Auto Insurance $80

Look back to the list you created in part 3 to find more categories that might remain constant for you. These might be health insurance, piano lessons, debt payments, etc.

Once you have assigned the values for the fairly constant expenses, move onto the others. Take your best guess and don't stress over it any more. Next week (and over the next month) we will refine a bit and make things a little more accurate.

Then, give yourself a pat on the back, leave a comment to let me know how you are doing, and come back next week for some more budgetting fun! (Boy am I a nerd!)

*Update: click here to see part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 6, part 7, and part 8.