My Go-To Budget Minder for Nineteen Years
582979
I've depended on Quicken for my financial records since 1995, when I first purchased a computer.  It allows for quick reference of any expenditures and makes tax time as easy as pie.  (Of course, you do have to feed it the data throughout the year.)
2770777
Whew! So afraid that they would stop making this as it's the most economical and efficient Month at a glance
with room for each day. While I've been on the net since 1987, I'm not a blackberry/pda type.. i like looking at my scribble and the ritual of transferring birthdays each year, and getting a summary of what transpired when
as i flip the pages, as well as what i plan on... easily, immediately, without electricity. love that it runs from December of last year through January of the next -- that's how long it takes me to transition. When in the corporation i kept two -- one for work that stayed at work and one for me.
3200018
Perfect two year pocket planner.  Fits nicely in my purse and it helps me stay organized for the next 24 months.
109411
I have been using this style calendar for years.  Until the last two years, my company has purchased them for me.  Due to the budget cutbacks calendars are no longer purchased.  I have been purchasing them for my self and my assistant because the layout of the calendar makes it easy to write liitle reminders on and it is always on my desk front and center so that I can stay on top of things.
4194297
I love this planner series. I do wish I could find one that's only twelve months. The vertical format is great if you're a list maker like I am. There are tear out lists in the back, although I often use them for journaling. I also appreciate the elastic band. It's the little things. :)
362859
This book is excellent at breaking down the mythical world of "consumerism" and telling it like it is when it comes to budgeting in the post-bubble-economy world.  Following a period of earning excess graduate degrees (with the student loan debt as mute testimony to prove it), I became permanently disabled.  Suddenly, our slightly over six figure income was reduced by half. We went through bankruptcy, home loan modification, and all the while through trial and error I created my version of the kind of budget this author suggests; using my own standard spreadsheet software (I couldn't afford to buy a software program that did budgeting).  It was painful.  It was wrenching to try to learn to live on a little over half of what we once earned together and make do with one income and what little added benefit comes from my monthly social security disability checks.  Don't forget I'm also stuck with those lousy private student loans to pay off (my federal loans were discharged due to permanent disability, but the private loans remain and while I had planned to have them all paid off in 5 years after finishing my studies, well...it didn't work out that way having become disabled suddenly, and that's what this book is about -- how the unexpected will get you).  Once you get the zero budget thing down, you start finding ways to creatively save money.  We use a particular gas station for fill ups and have worked out a monthly arrangement with the owner where we pay once a week for the gas we have purchased throughout that week.  Sounds silly, but knowing we have to face the owner of the gas station weekly and present the cash for our purchases keeps us honest about how much gas we are using over a week -- a month.  Our electricity costs are out-of-sight expensive where we live.  We've cut some of the monthly cost by investing in LED soft-white light bulbs.  We did this after figuring up what number of hours we were burning 60 - 100 watt bulbs and how many of them, and transferred this into kilowatt hours of expense, and then compared that with the equally-powerful light generating LED soft-white light bulb models. Yes, I know if you find them at stores here in the U.S. they are prohibitively expensive.  Shop around. I've been ordering mine directly from China merchants at a fraction of what U.S. merchants are charging and we've knocked about $75.00 off of our monthly electric bill.  My budget spreadsheet is set up to give us a month by month forecast of where we stand at the beginning, week by week, and at the end of each month over a full year, allows for day by day edits and corrections as things come up and must be planned for and accounted for; and carries expenses and surpluses forward month by month so that we can track the use of our money - watching the savings grow as we adhere to our zero based budget (part of your budget is application of some of it to savings, thus there is nothing left after paying all bills and putting away savings each month -- something you MUST do to survive in the new economy).  Reading this book made clear for me areas I was still fuzzy on as well as giving me concrete support that we're on the right path financially...finally, and in spite of it all going so terribly wrong for us about the time the economy tanked.  It's not easy, but it can be done.  Here's to everyone's better financial future! Get the book, you can't go wrong.
2520883
I have the Aug 2016 - Dec 2017... I am definitely getting another one! If you carry your planner (rather than use a wall calendar), I recommend looking into them as well.
On the Big Grid wall calendar there is plenty of space to keep the family organized and having everybodys going-ons in one place which allows your family to plan in advance.
Plus you don't have to keep it in the back of your mind, oh no! I need to find a babysitter tomorrow for [insert event here]!
Along with the ordinary appointments, partys & so on... we also note the day we have changed filters (water, HVAC, air purifier, etc) & the dates the dogs have received their flea & heartworm preventatives. Obviously, once we change a filter or give meds we flip to the next month we fill-in for what is due when.
Simply put it is big enough to make the whole family & household organized.
Bottom line, if it keeps my family organized, it will help you keep yours organized.
I plan to purchase this calendar & typically amazon is my go-to for most everything, but I have noticed it less expensive elsewhere... if the price changes, maybe Ill be buying here.
2791058
This is my first Quartet Planning Board, and I'm glad I picked this particular planning board for my uses!

Year after year, I purchase paper planners to keep me better organized, and year after year, they go pretty much unused. With this planning board, while yes, I WILL have to take the time to properly fill the dates in for each of the months displayed, I can just wipe it clean each quarter, and move on to the next chunk of my year. Since it's undesignated, and relatively sturdy (although not as sturdy as I'd ideally like), I expect to get many years of use out of this board before wear and tear makes it replacement time for it.

The size is large enough to allow you to put shorthand notes pretty much wherever you'd need them, the mounting hardware is enclosed, and there's even a dry erase marker to get you started. Just be gentle in mounting it, and ensure you wipe it thoroughly clean, and there's no reason why you won't get far more than your money's worth out of this board! Those Franklin Covey planners I've bought for years now are double the cost of this board, and that's just for one year!

Spend smarter, not harder! ;)
4043515
What a great guide! It really feels like you have Rachel speaking some much needed money sense right next to you. So far the guide has helped me write down a budget within 10 mins of me reading and I have been avoiding budgets since  '07. Great Job!
2280834
I ordered this and arrived quickly. It's pretty nice. It has a lot of information to help me understand what I need to save.
The book is sturdy and should hold off for a few years to come. Wish I had this a long time ago. The colors are cute. It makes me forget I'm dealing with taxes.
The monkey is adorable.
4357160
I love the Dave Ramsey Plan and these envelopes are the key to doing the Ramsey Road.  You can read his book from the library and use these spendVelopes to get your budget going. I tell everyone to give it a try. It works for me.
860810
Just what we needed and just the right price for my budget.
1612545
Gonna save me a bunch of money over the years by having these on hand.
1548033
Family budgeting is 80% behavior. 20% academics. Get this today and use it for your family monthly budgeting. Income at the top and all monthly expenses in the middle. Should equal 0 at the bottom.

We bought this 150 page book for our non monthly expense tracking. Our monthly expense tracking is the 300 page.

Analog budgeting has many many positives. Very handy to flip back a year to see what you spent on Christmas, back to school or a birthday last year.  It's simple! Both parties can use it. Not buried in some spreadsheet on a computer in a dark room. Totally portable. Battery life does not apply. I could go on all day. The only close second is a yellow legal pad.
779109
Many years ago, I came across this book as a young adult. S$25 was not cheap for a student like myself then. I hang around in the book store for almost an hour reading it, before I decided to invest my whole week of allowance into it. Two decades down the road, looking back, this was probably one of the best 'investment' I made in my younger days. It changes my life dramatically, for the better. Only wish is to have it as a kindle copy so that I can easily refer to it every once in a while, to remind myself of certain things in life.
1642289
Ok, so I now have my NINETH Family Calendar hanging on the side of the fridge... I've been using them since my younger child was two... and I absolutely could not keep everyone in the family straight without it. It's even better now that my kids are old enough to know to look at their columns to find out what's up for them. I keep a mug of fine Sharpies on top of the fridge to write on it. Woe to anyone who touches Mom's pens without permission!! Love the new stickers... so cute. It's been VERY fun to keep the old ones and be able to look back at who did what when, going back to before preschool! Honestly, my only complaint is that now that the calendar is 18 months, it's much heavier and bulkier. I don't use the first six months of the calendar; I just clip the new year's under the old year until January. Kind of a waste for those of us who are repeat offenders.
1932225
I read this every two years ago and without fail, it "resets" the way our family behaves.  As so many people have stated, it's a lot of data and common sense compiled in one place with surprising results.  But here's what so many people are not mentioning.  This book is loaded with information about the emotional baggage/freedom that money can provide.  Do you want to learn about how families use "Economic Outpatient Care" aka financial gifts as a way to control & influence each other?  It's in there.  What about how financial gifts can dampen your children's motivation?  That's in there, too.  Many of us are brought up to not discuss money, yet money issues are everywhere and we're often left to educate ourselves on the matter; rarely do we receive formal financial training.  You can't help but notice that so and so must have money because of the way they display it.  Conversely, we never notice (or know) that the older gentleman driving the 15 year old Dodge has seven figures in the bank.

My husband and I read it 10 years ago and here's what we've changed-  The book heavily influenced where we bought our home and how big (or in our case, small) it is.  Cable went out the window (we use digital bunny ears that cost $50 for local channels and got Netflix).  Saved $2,000/year.  We haven't purchased a new car since.  We try (and often do) save at least 10% of our annual income and we're slowly trying to invest it- not as impressive as many in the book but it's a start.  We negotiate like crazy for our annual propane purchase and save $1,800/year.  I clip coupons.  We buy name brand clothes but absolutely never at full price.  Frequently clothes will be purchased for next season for the kids while they're on sale at the end of this season.  We are surgical about turning off the lights when we leave a room and every week our menu is planned so we don't waste food.  Do some of these things sound extreme?  Maybe they are, but here's what we haven't changed after reading this book...

We still take great vacations, usually two a year.  We go out to eat once a month but rarely more.  We drive one nicer car and one beater.  We like really good food so despite all the coupons, we don't compromise on the quality of meats or fruits & veggies.

In short, The Millionaire Next Door has been a defining part of our lives.  Whenever I start to feel myself slip into a mode where I want to spend more we remind ourselves of the freedom financial stability provides.  At our age (34) people are flashing money everywhere- Wow, hot car!  Love the house upgrade- we all need 4000 sq ft right?  Ohhhh, the beach house is tempting.  Expensive camps for the kids.  Expensive weekly dinners for the parents.  A tree exploding with presents.  I could go on and on and on.....

We've developed a keen eye for detecting people that we think live "The Millionaire Next Door' lifestyle....but we'll never know for sure.  If nothing else, this book has taught us to be cognizant and aware of every penny we spend.