I need an online budget planner for dummies?
February 24th, 2010 | 
Author: 
I may be moving 1500 miles away, I have a house that is mortgaged and don’t want to sell it. I will need to figure out a budget. I’m looking for an online budget planner/calculator based on my income/# of people in household/where I will be living. I’m not entirely sure I can afford to move without selling my house and I have to make a decision within a few days. Please help!
they are called financial advisors. they arent free.. you may get a free analysis thats it..
You should be able to make a fairly simple budget yourself. Here’s what I do (I use Excel on my computer, but if you have Quickbooks or Quicken there’s usually a budget feature)
Income (Do you have a job lined up already? Do you know what your pay will be? Use your take home pay for these calculations)
Less expenses:
Fixed expenses
- Current mortgage $XXXX
- Current home owner’s insurance $XXXX (if it’s not included in your mortgage)
- Current association fees: $XXXX (if you pay those)
- Current land taxes: $XXXX (if it’s not included in your current mortgage)
- Car loan: $XXXX (if you have a loan, does your lender allow the vehicle to be moved that far away permanently?)
- Car insurance: $XXXX (this may change when you move, contact your insurance agent)
- Other loans: $XXXX (student, personal, etc. if you have them)
- Credit card debt: $XXXX
- Rent at new location: $XXXX
- Savings (whatever you’re saving now, increase it if you can)
Unknown expenses:
- Utilities at new location: $XXXX (check the utility company websites for your new location. They may have an estimate calculator)
- Moving costs: $XXXX
Variable expenses
- Groceries: $XXXX (you could probably use the amount you’re currently spending, maybe add $50-100 if the new location is expensive)
- Gas/transportation: $XXXX (that one’s harder to estimate, but it should be fairly close to what you’re spending now. If you’re going to use public transportation, there should be a website that lists fares)
- Misc: $XXXX (Not knowing where you’re moving from or to, this one’s hard to guess. Make this a fairly large number as a fallback in case of emergency)
Those are the big ones that I can think of. If you usually use a budget, this shouldn’t be too hard. If you’re not, it’s a great tool to keep yourself financially healthy. What it comes down to is what do you bring home compared to what do you spend?
Make use of websites. Many states have a section of their website for folks who are moving there. There will usually be links or contact info for utilities, public transportation, possibly housing and school info, things like that. You might also try the state or city’s visitor bureau for information.