Things You'll Need:
- Quicken Money Management software (2005 or newer)
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Step 1
Create a basic budget by opening the "Budget Feature," located under "Planning." If this is your first time working with Quicken or if you just want to keep a basic budget that covers general categories, you can choose the "Automatic Option." While simple, the automatic budget is enough for many beginners.
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Step 2
Choose from a series of spreadsheet options to get the one that fits your desired time period (you can choose monthly, quarterly or yearly) and certain predetermined categories. This allows you to exclude those sections you don't need (such as car payments if you don't have a car).
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Step 3
Choose the Quicken manual budget option if you need something more detailed. This is the best option if you are keeping a budget for a business, a large organization or even the school fundraising efforts.
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Step 4
Use subcategories if you want a more detailed breakdown of your expenses, but keep in mind this may complicate the general layout of your budget. For example, you can use a general category called Entertainment, or have it divided into small subcategories such as Magazine Subscriptions, Eating Out and Movies. Subcategories are especially useful if you are trying to understand where your money is going and then trying to find ways to cut down in a specific area.
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Step 5
Don't forget to include variable expenses. If much of your budget goes to occasional expenses such as vacations, donations and unexpected trips to the veterinarian, you should make sure you include a column for it. However, this should be quite a small category. If you find yourself adding the same expense here more than once, you may need to create a permanent section for it.
