True story: On graduation day, Alice tells her dad that they need to quickly stop by the Tuition Office before going to the graduation ceremony. Once they arrive at the office, her unsuspecting father is told that Alice has an outstanding balance of over $2000 and won’t be allowed to graduate unless it’s paid in full on the spot.

Begrudgingly, her dad pays the bill. Frustrated, he asks her why she hadn’t managed her money better and paid the bill.

Alice remarks, “I don’t know how this happend. I kept a perfect budget all four years and I can tell you where every penny went.”

Her dad responds, “That’s not budgeting. That’s accounting.”

So what’s the difference between accounting and budgeting?

The distinction may be subtle, but is very important.

• Accounting is keeping a record of everything you’ve earned and spent.
• Budgeting is setting limits and keeping to those limits.

Budgeting is a very proactive activity. Budgeting is taking the time to decide in advance how you are going to spend your money and how you are not going to spend your money. A good budgeter will rarely end up in bankruptcy. A good accountant can still end up in bankruptcy because accounting focuses on the past instead of the future. Accounting just tells you what you did instead of planning for what you are going to do.

Have I made my point clear? I hope so.

Now, let’s talk about a couple of basic tips for good budgeting.

#1: Start with a budget of how you are currently spending money, then tweak

A common pitfall is to create a budget that is completely unrealistic. So your first draft should just document how much money you currently earn and where you are spending your money. With that outline as a base, start making changes and tweaks. For example, here’s a real basic first draft just writing down what I’m currently spending:

• Income after taxes: $2500
• Mortgage: $900
• Groceries: $700
• Gas: $100
• Cable/Internet: $100
• Utilities: $125
• Credit Card Payment: $75
• Dining Out: $200
• Cell Phone: $150
• Clothing: $200
• Other: $50

If you add all of that up, you’ll find that I’m spending $100 more each month than I bring home. No wonder, my credit card balance keeps climbing. Now, here’s a revised budget based on that first draft (with the changes highlighted).

• Income after taxes: $2500
• Mortgage: $900
• Groceries: $500
• Gas: $100
• Cable/Internet: $100
• Utilities: $125
• Credit Card Payment: $375
• Dining Out: $100
• Cell Phone: $150
• Clothing: $100
• Other: $50

Just by controlling how much I’m spending on food and clothes, I am able to put another $300 each month towards paying off the credit card! What’s really cool is that as soon as the credit card is paid off, that’s $375 a month ($4500 a year) towards savings. That’s almost a fully funded Roth IRA.

#2: Simplify your budgeting by using a tool (I like online tools)

Creating a budget and then tracking just how well you keep to your budget can be a time consuming task. So make your life easier by using some type of tool. Here’s a list of options.

• Microsoft Excel provides a real basic way of tracking your spending. But requires you to enter all of your transactions and can be very manual. If you are interested in Excel, you can download some budget templates on Microsoft’s website.
• Intuit’s Mint.com is probably the most popular online tool. You can create budgets and sync your bank accounts so that Mint automatically updates your budget. You will have to “teach” Mint how to categorize your spending. But that’s pretty simple. For more info, check out this review of Mint.com. Or visit Mint.com, which is free.
• PocketSmith is another online tool that features cash flow forecasting. Basically, they guess how much money you’ll have for the next 6-12 months based on your budgets. PocketSmith’s big thing is that they are calendar based. The basic plan is free with options to upgrade for either $5 or $12 a month. Visit PocketSmith.com.
• Your bank may have a budgeting tool. For example, USAA.com offers budgeting for its members through its online site.

I’ve outlined just four options. Though, there are lots of tools out there. So do some research and find a solution that works for you.

#3: Only use cash if you need extra control

Okay, so this tip really could go on the prior point of using a tool, but I think it warrants its very own section. There is a very old school method of budgeting, that Dave Ramsey advocates, called envelopes. Basically, after each paycheck, you divide your money up into envelopes marked Groceries, Mortgage, Clothes, Gas, etc. You then carry those envelopes around and only spend the money in the envelopes.

For example, if I have $50 in my Dining Out envelope, then I can’t spend more than $50. Once the money is gone, I’m done spending money. The concept of not spending money that you already have is becoming, unfortunately, a foreign concept in today’s world of easy consumer credit.

So if you know that you have a problem with overspending, then use this simple system to get it under control.

#4: Have a Blow Money category

Let’s all just be honest and acknowledge that you are not perfect and will probably buy something you shouldn’t have. The thing is, it’s not a mistake if you plan for it. Give yourself a small allowance of discretionary money. Meaning, money that you can just blow on whatever you want.

If you are just starting out, then your Blow Money category may only be $20. As you remove debt and increase your savings, then you can increase your discretionary or blow money.

If you have any tips that have helped you budget, then please let us know in the comments. Also, follow Rabbit Funds on Twitter if you haven’t already.