How to Use the My Total Money Makeover Budget Tool
Dave Ramsey, author of the bestselling book "The Total Money Makeover," is a personal-finance guru who has helped hundreds of thousands of readers get out of debt. The basis of his debt-elimination plan is quite simple: budget. By using a budget, consumers tell their money where to go, instead of looking back at the end of the month wondering where it went. The premium section of the Dave Ramsey website is called My Total Money Makeover (My TMMO), and it has several tools consumers can use to get out of debt. One of the most popular tools featured in the My TMMO subscription is the My Total Money Makeover Budget Tool. Start on your debt-free journey today, and learn how to create a custom budget using the My TMMO Budget program.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Log on to the My Total Money Makeover website.
-
2
Click on the “My Money” button, then select “Money Tools” from the following screen.
-
-
3
Enter a name for your budget in the “Create a Budget” section and enter the start and end dates. It is recommended you do your budget monthly, as that is the standard the Total Money Makeover is based on. Place a check mark in the wizard box and then click on “Create.”
-
4
Enter the amount of income you expect to receive during the month you’re budgeting for. Some individuals may have fluctuating income, so it is important to enter how much you expect to receive in the given month and not an average. Click on “Next.”
-
5
List the amount you plan to give to charity (if any) and click on “Next.” For those who tithe, this amount can go in the charity section.
-
6
Put the amount you plan to use toward your emergency fund (either basic or fully funded) in the following screen and click on “Next” to continue. If you are not funding your emergency fund this month, leave this set to $0.
-
7
If you are saving for retirement, enter that amount and click “Next.”
-
8
List the amount you are saving for college tuition, whether the recipient will be you or one of your children. If you are not saving for college, leave this set to $0. Click “Next."
-
9
Select “Yes” if you pay for housing and “No” if you do not. If you pay for housing, select whether you rent or own. Enter the amount of your mortgage, or rent, if applicable.
-
10
Enter the rest of your housing-related expenses, including insurance, repairs, utilities and your various sinking funds.
-
11
Determine the amount you plan to spend on groceries for the month and enter that amount in the appropriate field. You will list a separate amount for eating out. If you are working on getting out of debt, you will want to limit or eliminate the latter expenditure.
-
12
Enter your car-payment information if you have a financed automobile. You will be prompted to enter how many payments you make per month, as many families have more than one auto loan. Determine the amount of your remaining car-related expenses, including insurance, gasoline, oil, repairs and tires.
-
13
Input your monthly expenditure for clothing for your children, as well as other members of your household.
-
14
Follow the remaining prompts, which will encompass various other expenses that may come up monthly, as well as all of your debt accounts.
-
15
Click on the “Finish” button after you have entered all of the requested information. Review your budget and make any necessary changes.
-
1
