Budgeting - Let's decide what we want!

Matthew Vanecek mevanecek at yahoo.com
Mon Sep 1 12:36:16 CDT 2003


On Mon, 2003-09-01 at 11:15, Andrew L. Gould wrote:
> On Monday 01 September 2003 10:01 am, Matthew Vanecek wrote:
> I still think we're talking about 2 different tasks, which could be handled in 
> separate "modules".  (I mentioned this in a separate sub-thread of this email 
> topic.)  Currently, I earmark funds by removing funds from my checkbook and 
> allocating them to specific purposes in a spreadsheet.  (I'm still planning 
> the conversion to Gnucash.)  This is similar to the cash management described 
> above and to encumberance accounting used in governmental accounting (yuk!).  
> The amount left in my checkbook is like petty cash, which is used for food, 
> fun, etc.  This method affects my day-to-day, week-to-week activities.  This 
> may be all that's necessary for personal financial management; but a small 
> business should also use a separate budget process that is more strategic in 
> nature.  A budget is something you would put in a Business Plan.
> 
> Andrew

A budget is not only for a business plan, but also for ongoing
operations.  From corporate to SOHO, you have to know what you need to
spend money on, and how much income you are projected to have.

I'm definitely not opposed to having a mix of functionality.  I
personally try to use a mix of business and personal financial
management to keep things in line, and a budget process would be most
handy.  But if you can design a way to have your above allocation
implemented as well, please do so.  I'm not saying it wouldn't be
useful--just that it's not how I would do it.  Barring catastrophe, I
know the minimum amount of money I'll be receiving over the next 12
months and can plan accordingly.  Even when I was struggling through
school, and before, I had a decent idea of what to expect. So I could
plan accordingly.  If you don't know what you're getting until you get
it, life in general becomes a bit more different (and yes, I've been
there, too. :( ).  Remember, however, that there are still many
constants (e.g., rent, phone, cable, car insurance, etc.) that
can/should be budgeted for.

Life has taught me (rather quickly) that planning for the future sure
makes it easier to handle...
-- 
Matthew Vanecek
perl -e 'print $i=pack(c5,(41*2),sqrt(7056),(unpack(c,H)-2),oct(115),10);'
********************************************************************************
For 93 million miles, there is nothing between the sun and my shadow except me.
I'm always getting in the way of something...



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