Money Money Money Money

One of the new things that I’ve been learning about and will continue to learn about is being financially responsible. I’ve spent some time discussing with my parents how much money I’m going to have on me and how to make sure that that money lasts.

I heard a great quote about budgeting that said, “Budgeting tells your money where to go instead of later on wondering, ‘Where did my money go?’” (or something like that). And one of my goals while I’m in Sydney is to use the finances that God has provided for me responsibly. I’m trying to be very intentional about making sure that I manage my finances well.

A tool that has been very helpful for me in setting up a budget and spending plan is an iPhone app called Ace Budget. It’s a simple finance app that lets you setup individual budgets for certain things and then shows you the total of how much you have budgeted for everything, and as you update each budget with transactions, it’ll show you how much you have left overall and in each category.

There are more sophisticated budgeting apps out there, but as of right now, this is been a great help for me in planning out how to responsibly manage the money that it’s going to take to live once I am settled in. I’ve never had to live on a budget before so this is all uncharted territory for me.

Do you have a budget you try to stick to? How long have you had one?