budget living

Real People’s Budget Round-Up

As a personal finance blogger, I am all too aware that talking about money is often taboo. Even in the  blogging world, many personal finance bloggers are hesitant to share their monthly budgets online. In fact, I’m one of those bloggers. Although I share debt repayment and net worth updates on my blog, I don’t share an in-depth look at my monthly budget because it feels too personal and I’m just not comfortable with revealing so much at this time. However, I do enjoy reading budgets written by real people because they teach me new ways I can reduce my expenses in my own monthly budget. Here’s a round-up of 4 of my favorite “real people” who share detailed budget updates.

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Six Figures Under

Stephanie began sharing her monthly budget updates on her blog when she and her husband were paying off $144,000 in student loans. Although they have since paid off the debt, Stephanie continues to share her family’s monthly budget on her blog. I find her monthly budget inspiring because she, her husband, and 4 kids live in California (which has a higher cost of living than many other states.) To cut costs, Stephanie and her family live in her in-laws’ basement until they have saved up enough money for a down payment on their mortgage.

The Budget Mama

Jessi is a personal finance blogger and stay-at-home mother who posts an average monthly budget for each year. Although I’m not married and don’t have kids, her budget is interesting to me because it includes a cigarette budget for her husband. I wholeheartedly agree with Jessi’s belief that you have to make a budget that is real for you, and take into account any habits or vices you have. If you cut those out of your budget without the motivation or desire to quit them, then your budget will be in the negative every month.

Making Sense of Cents

Michelle from Making Sense of Cents is well-known in the blogging community for turning her blog into a million-dollar business. She posts monthly income updates since becoming self-employed, but the budget post by Michelle that I enjoy the most is this older post. Her old budget is the most similar to mine at this stage in life so I can relate to the desire to pay off debt through freelancing.

Becoming Bailey

In the interest of total disclosure, Bailey is a personal friend of mine. That being said, regardless of our friendship, I find her monthly budget updates very interesting! Her husband is enlisted in the military, and she is currently unemployed (while job seeking), so they are living on a tight budget while also working on their debt snowball. She is entirely open on her blog about how much money they earn each month (and with her husband in the military, his paycheck is common knowledge.) Bailey’s budget update are a good reminder that you can still work on paying off debt and meeting financial goals while also enjoying life.

Burke Does

I share my monthly financial progress over on Burke Does. I share my budgets, my net worth, and my monthly debt-repayments. As someone who works a full-time job, blogs for fun, and writes, I’m pretty busy, but I love sharing an honest people of what my budget looks like.

If you’re looking for ways to start your own budget then these articles are a must read.

How to Determine Budget Needs from Wants
How to Start Living on Last Month’s Income
6 Ways to Stay Positive When You’re On a Tight Budget

 

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