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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: sakura on November 15, 2016, 10:49:38 AM

Title: [Budget] How to manage receivables/payables?
Post by: sakura on November 15, 2016, 10:49:38 AM
Hello my dear mustachians!
Ive started a few months ago to track and compare my expenses vs. budget. I'd like to know from more experienced people whats the best way to register the following situations

FYI I use splitwise app to track on shared expenses with BF and close friends. And I use Monefy app to track expenses but im not very happy with it. I cant search on the app nor can I send the database in excel to my email. If you have cheap suggestions for apps thatd be very helpful too!
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Title: Re: [Budget] How to manage receivables/payables?
Post by: runningthroughFIRE on November 15, 2016, 11:19:38 AM
Personally, I don't have a strict budget, but I do carefully track spending each month.  I don't have a policy of lending anything to anyone and expecting to get it back.  All "loans" are gifts as far as I'm concerned, so I put down the full amount when I spend it, and add the repayment back in if/when I'm paid back.  For credit cards, I also count the spending in full when I charge it on my card.  If it's a big ticket item I have been saving up for, it'll have its own budget line and will go against that.  If it's not a big ticket item, then it's a routine purchase and it'll get paid off at the end of the month as if I'd paid cash anyways.

In my opinion, all spending is cash out the door - it doesn't matter what method you used to spend it.  My spreadsheets are set up with that in mind though, so do what works best for you.  It's your budget, so you can set it up however it helps you save money and track your spending.

As for apps, the Mint app works fine for me but I do most of my actual expense tracking on a desktop computer.