Budgets Suck - But This Tool Makes It Suck A Little Less

Currently, I am reading a book called "Rich Bitch" by Nicole Lapin. The budget breakdown presented in this book has been the number one best tool that I have found. I can only speak on behalf of myself, but the general percents and the explanations about each one has led me to finally set a decent budget for myself. 

I have tried to do all sorts of budgets - working backwards from what I typically spend, guessing at what my needs will be in the coming week/month/year, and all the other suggestions out there - but this one makes sense and works. 

Once I set up a spreadsheet and input my income, I was able to do simple calculations to figure out how much money I had for each bucket. Then I adjusted to make it work for me. I am fortunate enough to walk to work now, so I did not need 15% for transportation. However, my rent is a little higher than 25%, so I moved the some of the money from transportation to housing. 

I have been using this system for only a couple of months now, but it has really helped me understand my money. I have been able to set real goals and I know what my limits are. I feel empowered! 

Since I love content marketing and designing graphics, I designed the one below for my own reference. By sharing it here, I hope you will be able to use it as well. 

More about the book and the budget on Nicole's website: http://nicolelapin.com/richbitchbook/