Welcome back! Now that we’ve estimated our income and expenses, it’s time to start creating the rough draft of our budget. This may seem overwhelming, but don’t worry if you’re not sure where to start. We’ve got some resources to help.
Now, we’ve written a few rough drafts in our lives. Mostly when we were in high school. The rough draft always came before the finished paper. We’d edit and edit and edit the draft until we were happy. Then, we’d turn it in and that would be it! We couldn’t edit it any more.
That’s where our budget rough drafts differ from the ones we wrote back then. We don’t have to turn in our budgets, so we can continue working on them forever. That might sound daunting, but it’s truly freeing! This gives us the opportunity to experiment and make adjustments to our budgets as we figure out what works and what doesn’t. Our budgets can always change because we ourselves are always growing and changing.
Today’s Assignment
- Look over the three sample budgets where you’ll see a list of different budget categories. We call these Envelopes in Goodbudget.
- Look back at the expenses you pulled up yesterday. When you think about your real expenses, which sample budget fits you best? Or might you want to mix and match? Remember to make room for giving — in week 3, we’ll do a giving experiment. Also think about what you might want to save for: that might be an emergency fund, or a big purchase like new tires.
- Sign up for the Goodbudget app, if you haven’t already. We recommend using the Goodbudget app for the next step.
- Add Envelope names for things you’d like to track using the sample budget as a guide. Head to the Edit Envelopes page in Goodbudget to add those Envelopes. For now, just put 0 for the amounts; you’ll work on those later. Be sure to save your changes when you’re done. Note: If you’re planning to track loans or other debts you’re working to pay off, be sure to add categories for those too, and we’ll show you how to hook those up to Goodbudget’s debt features later on.
- Share with the community of budgeters in the comments below: What did it feel like to write a rough draft of your budget? What did it make you think about?
Note for couples: Make sure that the Envelope names make sense to both people. You can also start talking about who’s responsible for which Envelopes. For example, one person might do all the grocery shopping, while the other pays the electric bill. Each person will have certain Envelopes where they have freedom to spend, as well as some where they have to stay on budget. And there might be some for shared spending, and therefore shared responsibility.
Happy budgeting,
-The Goodbudget Team
167 thoughts on “Create Your Rough Draft”
If I were to choose on the of 3 sample budgets, I would choose the Detailed Budget because I am very detail oriented and sometimes I can get confused easily, so therefore I would prefer more details.
I felt like this could be a good resource to help me manage my money, and I feel like I am taking the first steps to set up my life better when I am an adult.
detailed budget is what works for me. I like to know what paycheck each bill is coming out of! i feel like i have a lot of monthly expenses!
The simple budget sample would work best for me and I think a budget would help me save more money and prioritize spending as well.
Making the envelopes gives me hope that I will be able to track spending and help save
simple budget would work best for me, too many categories would overwhelm me and I would rather have a general set of expense options so that way I don’t get too stressed.
I would choose detailed budget because it is a good resource to help me understand how to do it due to the steps it gives you.
I feel like a simple budget plan is good for me so I dont get overwhelmed with so many things a once
I think a detailed budget would work the best for me because I tend to forget about the little things so a full detailed budget with everything included would help out a lot. I like step by step.
I was thinking how do I make ends meet or make this much money to pay for all my bills.? Also that I actually have responsibilities and that I am responsible.
The simple budget sample works for me right now and doing a draft made me feel like I am making progress in managing my finances.
Creating a budget is such an eye opener. There really isn’t as much money as I thought there was. I am so glad to have a clear picture of the numbers.
I feel overwhelmed however I think mixing the simple and detailed budget would be best for our family budget so we can see what check each bill comes from and what each person spends versus where we can cut back
Well I think the simple budget works for me now. Because I am out of work but once I go back to work the detailed budget will work for my family.
Honestly I had to give my brain a break before I did the envelopes lol but more than anything it was an eye opener and I’m excited to continue the course. I KNOW I CAN DO THIS!!!
Thanks for sharing! Yes, give your brain a break as needed 😀 Keep up the great work!
Making a rough draft made everything feel just a bit more real for me, I’m tweaking the budget to better fit my families needs… I am still looking forward to knowing what money I have in the bank and that the bills are going to get paid. I am so tired of living paycheck to paycheck and not knowing what to do
I am leaning towards the Detailed budget – I like that it breaks the expenses into minute categories. I want to see how much goes where.
A simple budget would work best for me. It shows me how to do my budget and its not complicated. I don’t spend or make a lot of money so its best for me.
writing my rough draft helped me better understand how to budget.
I think I learn more towards the simple budget.The rough draft made me realize how little I buy things.
I don’t spend alot of money so the student budget will work best for me
writing my rough draft really helped me understand how much money was coming in and going out.
I will usually use a simple budget just to start things. I don’t have a complex income so it’ll be easier for me to use. When I created my rough draft it helped me organize all of my spending.
It was very simple and easy to understand, I have actually tried something similar to this in the past.
The student budget is what fit me best and what it felt like to make a budget was, secure, i knew what i was going to spend on and what my limits were.
When I wrote my rough draft it helped me understand fully how much money I am spending and how much money I am saving
Writing my rough draft helped me understand how much money was going in and how much i was receiving.
Student budget would be best for me, because I do not rent or have a mortgage.
Thanks for sharing!
Writing my rough draft helped me understand how much money was going into the envelopes and how much was going out.
when I wrote a rough draft it show me how much I spend vs making. Also how much my parents give me and it makes me thankful for all that they pay for
making a rough drafts show me all the money I spend on food and clothes and how thankful Im for my parent helping me and paying for all the things they do
Simple budget works best for me because to many categories would be hard to keep track of, and I dont have that many expenses either, so the simple one works best for me.
Making a rough draft, really helped me understand, how much money I am giving up to my expenses.
Making a budget took me a bit to figure out, but it ended up making sense and it made me feel like I’m more in control.
Making the budget helped me realize that I don’t spend a lot of money, I save my money.
The simple budget is the easiest way to track my expenses. You have lots of expenses coming out of your paycheck each month.
The simple budget sample would work best for me and I think a budget would help me save more money and prioritize my spending.
the student budget one was the best fit for me because this helped me to see how much money I had and helped me know to not spend it carelessly.
It really helps me learn what I spend my money on
The student budget was the best for me because it fit how I use my money. The rough draft helped me understand how much money I spend.
Personally, I think the simple sample budget works best for me because it is simple and straightforward, so it will help me to stay on top of it and not get lost.
I helped me better visualize and understand how much money I need to be saving and how much I should be spending.
Student budget would work best for me because it has the most things in the categories that I pay for or will pay for soon, although I don’t pay rent. It splits things up the way I want and doesn’t stress me out to look at and think about.
Writing my rough draft helped me understand where my money comes from and where it goes
i am a simple budget. making the rough draft really helped me to see where all my money is going
A rough draft helped because I would be able to see it from a different perspective. I could see what the money was going to.
I think a simple budget would work best for me I get stressed and overwhelmed easily.
I would probably change some things about the simple budget, such as eating out and travel, but otherwise it suits me well.
A detailed budget be best for me because it tells me everything I need to know.
I added all my designated envelopes for expenses and one for savings. I am so glad this course is helping me step by step so I am not overwhelmed.
I signed up for the app and started to fill this in. I have a spreadsheet budget but I feel the app is more controllable and holds me more accountable to both mine and my partners spending. This is helping me to takes steps without getting overwhelmed.