The Budget Kit, 3rd Ed.: Amazon.ca: Judy Lawrence: Books

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Review

“A foolproof way to organize and maintain a personal budget.” —Publisher’s Weekly

“I recommend The Budget Kit over other budget books because it doesn’t just give you blank spaces to fill in. It really explains the hows and whys. Even if you’re already in debt it can help you pay off those debts when you know where the money is.” —Terry Savage, Author, The Savage Truth on Money --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Book Description

One of the best-loved roadmaps in the budget management genre, The Budget Kit is purchased year in and year out by its legions of dedicated fans who have learned to make budgeting as second nature as breathing. Judy Lawrence makes it easy, with this proven workbook for getting your financial house in order.

Covering everything from daily expenses to retirement and investments, child support, medical expenses, mail order purchases, gift giving, and tax deductible expenses, it offers an overall view of personal and family finances in monthly and yearly snapshots. The Budget Kit helps consumers:

*organize and maintain daily and monthly records of financial information
*use Internet resources wisely and well
*plan and manage finances, even with irregular paychecks
*reduce debt using the unique debt-reduction calculator
*anticipate monthly and yearly expenses, avoiding unpleasant surprises
*gain confidence and financial peace of mind

More than 50 graphs, forms and charts make the budgeting concepts crystal clear, and embody the hands-on attitude necessary to take charge of personal financial management.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
One longtime reader wrote to say: "When I started keeping records it was like an awakening. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! I've finally mastered the art of the budget, Jan 17 2002

By

Alexis Coxon (Holt, MI, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Budget Kit, 3rd Ed. (Paperback)

I had the misfortune to fall in love with a profession that doesn't pay beans. I also have tastes that would be more in line for an heiress. What to do?

Well, what I -did- do was overspend, get myself into credit-card debt, get myself out of it and still not have any idea how to save money or manage a budget. But this great little book changed that.

There's some advice and encouragement from the author here, but that's not the focus here. The focus would be extremely easy-to-use charts that help you plan your spending and keep track of what you actually -did- spend.

It's pretty easy: First, figure out your yearly expenses (the author provides a long list of these to jog your memory). These include car maintenance, professional dues, subscription renewals, haircuts, vet visits -- the whole shebang. There's also a great worksheet that lets you figure out your gift-giving expenses for birthdays, holidays and so on. Add them all up and divide by 12. That's the amount you need to save every month for these occasional expenses. (Why didn't I think of that?)

Then, for each month, there's a one-page worksheet where you figure out what your income will be for the month and what your expenses will be. You can easily chart when you'll get paid and when you'll need to pay your bills.

Finally, there's a two-page worksheet for each month to keep track of what you actually did spend. (It was a real eye-opener for me to realize what I actually spent on snacks each month!)

This is the first time I've every been able to create and stick to a realistic budget, and I have to say that it's pretty awesome. I actually have money left the second week of each pay period now, and I don't have to skip paying one bill so I can pay the others.

Here's a tip that I used to keep track of my budget: I copied it into my planner every week, so after I spent my allocation for, say, dining, I would cross it off. That way, I didn't get confused about how much of my budget for the week I'd actually used.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I got myself out of debt with this book, Nov 6 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Budget Kit, 3rd Ed. (Paperback)

When I first tried to make a budget using this book I spent a week crying. How could I possibly accomplish my goal to get out of debt and have any kind of fun? Once I actually starting living with the budget I found it very freeing.

The first year that the holiday season came around and my money for gifts and travel was sitting there waiting for me I was thrilled.

3 years later I am out of debt and that initially "impossible" amount of money that was going into credit card payments is now going into savings account :-)

Last year I REALLY wanted a photo printer mid year. Did I pull out a credit card and buy it? Nope. I went to my handy 12 month plan of occasional expensesm and thought about it. Did I really want the printer more than a hair cut, my next clothing allowance and a bit off of vaction budget? Yup. There was the money for my printer. No guilt. No credit cards.

This book is a great tool to get rid of that awful out of control feeling and come up with a plan. My book for year number 4 is going into my shoping cart now.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A first-rate household tool, April 28 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Budget Kit: The Common Cents Money Management Workbook (Paperback)

Ms. Lawrence has compiled a simple, no-nonsense approach to understanding and managing one's financial life. Her recommendations and examples are superb, and she communicates the "big picture" effectively. The book is a complete kit by itself, and the associated website offers more outstanding advice and useful tools. Largely due to this book, my wife and I finally understand our household's cash flow, and, more importantly, each other's perspective of money management. I am recommending this book to friends, family, and associates.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book on Budgeting
I am a veteran Certified Financial Planner professional and personal finance author. I've looked for years to find a practical and useful budgeting book to recommend to clients... Read more

Published on Jun 11 2004 by sherylgarrett2

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have Book for ALL Households
After using the third edition of The Budget Kit, I anxiously awaited the 4th edition and was not disappointed! Read more

Published on April 7 2004 by Gianna D Williams