Question

Soooo I’m curious.  When you budget for the month, what do you do when a bunch of your transactions you made at the very end of the month (you can check the receipts!Soooo I’m curious. When you budget for the month, what do you do when a bunch of your transactions you made at the very end of the month (you can check the receipts! they’re January I swear! ) don’t post to the bank account until February? Like the sushi we got for date night with the rest/majority of our January ‘restaurant’ budget. is it cheating if I overlook it getting taken out of account in February? I’m starting to see the advantage of the cash envelope system. cash would never do me like this  

Answer 1

You have two choices, account for it in January and make sure that you February starting balance shows the amount you are starting with MINUS those spends; or account for it in February and show your starting balance before those spends come out. Personally, I opt for the first one so I start each month fresh. I have my bank's app, so I can see pending debits (what I've spent that is waiting to clear) and I can see what my bank balance will be once they have cleared. Again, it is personal choice, my only suggestion is that you are consistent and do account for it otherwise you're just cheating yourself and will potentially get yourself in a mess.  

Answer 2

That depends on how you budget. As soon as I spend money, I take it out of my budget and put it on my expense tracker. I don't wait the many days it takes to hit the bank. In this case, that money wouldn't have been carried over in February.  

Answer 3

I budget based upon when I make the purchase, regardless of when it clears the account.  

Answer 4

You should be budgeting for the month you spent it in. Even if it’s the last day of Jan you bought something then that’s the month you account it for.  

Answer 5

This is why cash is king . Only thing that’s left In my acct is the money that needs to be taken out. like my prime or Apple Music ect . It should still be counted in January

Answer 6

Food is confusing for me to track and my husband works on the road so he has to buy food with a card sometimes. I am opening a new bank account next week that I’m going to use as a cashless envelope. I’ll mark on my tracker that I’m moving money to the food account and then I can just look at that bank account to see all food transactions.