How Full Is Your Money Pot? Find Out With The 15-Minute Budget

There’s a reason why the saying “budget as a four-letter word” is cliche. We do hate budgets, don’t we? And it’s not so much because they’re so hard to create — it’s because they’re just so easy to fail.

To be sure, services like Mint.com (disclosure: yes, yes, this is us) have done a lot to improve consumers’ “budgeting” experience, helping people create, track and ultimately stick to their budgets with little effort.  

But for those who like to supplement their online budgeting experience with something of a lower-tech nature, check out these tips from WalletPop.com‘s “Bargain Babe” Julia Scott on how to “discover your money pot:” a 15-minute process that will help you create a budget and stick to it throughout the month.

Scott starts by totaling her net income for the month and substracting her fixed expenses (that’s housing, car payment, bills and savings — but not including food and gas). The resulting number is her money pot.

Any time she makes a purchase, she substracts it from the money pot. This way, she knows exactly how much money she has to spend each month and, take note, because a certain amount dedicated to savings has been subtracted from it in the very beginning, she is able to build up a savings cushion at the same time.

Do you think that might work for you? What is your budgeting strategy? Get the details on Julia Scott’s budgeting plan from the video above (or here at WalletPop.com) and share your thoughts in the comments.