Budget/Dave Ramsey ?

Well, I think the amount of "fun money" will be proportional to how intense you want to be in attacking your debt. If you can do it in, say, a year, maybe you can skip fun stuff (except minimally) to maintain your focus. But I do agree, you cannot deny every single thing for a long period of time. What about a mini celebration with the payoff of each card?
You can do this. We did!
Seriously buy O. of Dave's books used for a few bucks. Either TTM or Financial Peace will get the job done.We're debt free including the house!
Was it easy? No.
Did it take sacrifice? Yes!
Was it worth it? Totally!

First off, good for you for wanting to look at your spending habits and make a budget. I would look at what you currently spend now on "Fun" and possibly cut that in half. If you are wanting to save for a trip or seasonal events then dial back your "fun money" back more and save more. Good Luck

Figure out how much fun money you are spending now. It's probably a lot more than you realize. Look at that "latte list" and see what you can reasonably cut out. Also take a look at your debt. If it's significant, then you have to pay that down first- fun can come later.

$100 per month for pizza and movie rentals should be about it unless you have minimal debt.

We did all of our "fixed" bills first. Then we looked at our holiday spending for three years (yes, we keep a spreadsheet for this) and averaged that out (including cards and family pictures). Then we looked at any major purchases that we knew were coming up (including trips and weddings). After we had done all of that, we met with our financial planner who looked at our "expenditures" and "where" we would like to be financially when we retire. That number became our 401/403 contribution rate. $10,000 per year per child into savings for college/private school.

What's left over? Enough for pizza and a few rentals.

Account for ALL of it... short term and long term before having "fun money".

One of the first things to do is to find out where the money is going. Get two pocket notebooks. One is for you and one is for your husband. Every time you spend money, or use a credit crd, write it down. Example: 7-11, 42 oz soda, $2.39. /'/' Vending machine at work, soda, $1

At the end of the week, enter into your budget book where you spent money. At the end of the month, you and your husband look to see where you spent your money. I'm sure you will be surprised by some of what you find. My brother and his wife couldn't figure out where their money was going. After the first month of keeping track, they found they were spending over $500 per month at the 7-11 for Icee's, and snacks. That was more than their house payment ! ! !

When you go to pay off your bills, sort them by interest rate and amount owed. I'd start with the highest interest rate and the smallest amount owed. If you have a $400 per month $4000 car loan at 2%, and a credit card at 18% with a $200 minimum payment, I'd do the credit card first even if the credit card balance was $10,000.

If you have questions or if you want some suggestions of which bills to pay off first, e-mail me with the balances, interest rate, and amount of the payment.

My wife and I each have $125 per month of fun money.

Good luck to you and yours.

You already have some great ideas here . . . the only thing I would add is to go to the library and get DR's book "The Total Money Makeover."

You an also listen to his show for free every day online from 2 pm to 5p (eastern): www.daveramsey.com .

You can also google search radio stations with his show and listen to it at various times throughout the day.

I haven't bought anything from DR other than the high school curriculum for homeschoolers (counted that as a personal finance course).

Good luck.

When I was younger I didn't have a budget either....

Every situation is different...so for one month, track every penny you spend...seriously - keep a small notebook with you and track EVERY PENNY - debit card, credit card and cash purchase...you will be AMAZED at where your money goes...

When the month is over - find out of that money what you didn't "need"...and you can cut that out...at to planning for season ticket prices...use the current years price and then add 15% for "price hike's"..

You really don't have to sacrifice a lot of fun stuff - you just have to look at your life differently...does that make sense? There are a TON of fun things to do out there - that are cheap and free - question is - are they for you? So look around your town and find out what's going on...here in Reston, EVERY SATURDAY night in the summer there are free concerts at the town center - bring your own food and chairs and enjoy a free concert!!

So when we created our budget - we set aside $300 for "fun"...but that's what we can afford...we set money aside for savings, investments, etc. if we don't use the $300 in that month - we tuck it back into savings...

We have been a cash only family since 2006...it's not always fun and it's not always easy - but it IS possible and YOU CAN DO IT!!!

To me I back into my fun money. I put together my priorities about college saving, retirement saving, having savings account in case of emergency. Then of course factor in my bills. If you have credit card debt, how long until it's paid off? Do you know how much to pay monthly to pay off a credit card, car loan, etc. Then factor in spending on kids activities or sports. After all of that is whAt you are comfortable with, then you see what is left. And if u need to tweak anything you know what you are adjusting and the impacts. And maybe go back and see what u are really doing or spending for fun. What is it on? Maybe a cell phone or cable account can be relooked at to get a better deal.

i only allowed 10 bucks which was not enough. i then upped it to 50 as a couple which was doable. if you can get friends and family to support you by eating at home, having get togethers, going to freebies, and such it is much easier.
i didn't see it in any plan, but we quit giving gifts except to the kids. we also quit sending wedding gifts, baby gifts, funeral flowers, graduation gifts, alumni gifts, buying baked goods for school events, buying any fundraisers, donating "just a dollar" at the checkout, and more.
We decided who we donate to and that is all we give to. This caused hard feelings with only a couple of people. We didn't tell everyone because if I stop and buy a water when traveling, I don't want to hear about it from someone who knows we are on the plan. I am an adult and we personally have weak immune systems and don't ever drink from a fountain or bottle that isn't clean).

We finally got debt free and there is nothing anyone can do to make us go in debt again. If we want to give a gift or funeral flowers, we do. Small town or not, we can't afford to pay out all that.

You will feel such a relief. I can't explain it.

Budgeting is a financial plan and it doesnt mean you are broke. Mostly exercised among financially stable people through their financial advisors. However, it doesnt matter if you’re living paycheck to paycheck or earning six-figures a year, you need to know where your money is going if you want to have a handle on your finances. Unlike what you might believe, budgeting isn’t all about restricting what you spend money on and cutting out all the fun in your life. It’s really about understanding how much money you have, where it goes, and then planning how to best allocate those
funds. Do you review your monthly bank statements? Do you know where your money goes? Do you want to retire early and travel the world? Do you want to help your children with their college tuition? Do you want to give them a nice wedding gift like a downpayment for their house? Or a vacation beach house? Do you want to help your grandchildren? All of these things are possible when you live on the budget.

http://financialplan.about.com/od/budgetingyourmoney/a/Bu...

I'm going to ditto what Denise P wrote. I'm working the Dave Ramsey steps now and will be debt free next spring (except for the mortgage). It's been rough at times, and yes - once in awhile you have to do something fun. Just make sure you can pay cash for it and don't go overboard. We've found that we "feel" more rich because we pay cash for everything, and are smarter with our money...we know where it all goes and that makes a big difference. It really is worth the effort! Good luck!

First, know that you are talking to a huge Ramsey fan. =) I've been to his headquarters, trained to bring Financial Peace University (and the whole Momentum training) back to our church. Then I went back to be trained by his staff to be a Financial Coach. I love these biblical, tested principles!

You are correct that it's a balance between being responsible and gazelle-intense in paying off your debt & making sure you can live with your decisions. If you feel like your family will do best with still having some fun money, then work it in. Make sure you are paying your bills and at least your minimum payments on your debt. (I'd suggest paying more than your minimum pymt, but only you know your #s and your family.) Honestly, my family puts back about $20-$25 a month -- some months we spend it, some months we don't & it builds up. If you know of an event coming up, make sure you budget for it ahead of time, if possible. If you feel like you're doing too much "fun", cut it back a bit & pay off a credit card. That's pretty exciting when you free up that money that you were using for the cc & can use it to pay off the next debt.

It's really fun to watch yourself climb out of the hole of debt. It truly is freeing! Good luck & feel free to message me back if you have other questions!