Do you Budget Well?

[MSB256]

With the way the economy is I am blessed just to have a job. But I do not make that much and I'm getting married in June. Don't worry, she lets me play golf... haha. I'm trying to get better about money and the way I spend so I want to start tracking the way I spend.

I know there has been a similar post but this is specific. Do you have a monthly budget for golf? If you budget for things like eating out... gas, whatever.. do you include golf?

Trying to get better at golf and trying to save money at the same time is kind of contradicting ay? haha

[microcrayfish]

I don't budget for golf but I probably should. I'm still at university so I don't have a proper job at the moment and don't have the whole wife and family and mortgage thing to worry about but I think I probably waste a bit more money than I should on golf. I don't pay for my rounds because I'm a member at the course but stuff like range balls, tee and gloves add up eventually.

[Cody]

Well right now the weather is limiting me more than money, but normally i play with my retired grandpa who has more money than he knows what to do with.

My dad is very fortunate to have a great job so he normally doesnt have a problem with a golf budget(he just bought mp-52's). Its normally just enough time after work or a good sunny day to go out.

[XMScott]

Im off all week but the weather looks to help me budget. Going to go out on thursday but thats it.

What ive doing is practicing around the green more. I bought 60 used ball on amazon for 20 bucks. And a shag bag for 20. Its free to use the practice greens at every course i visit. Im sure it will shed numbers off my game and its free at the same time. WIN WIN!

[GoldenBear]

Agreed, cheapest strokes to shave off your game are in the short game. So many places have free usage of the facilities for chipping and putting.

I maintain a golf budget the same way I play the game, very little calculation, lots of "feel". If I feel like I've been playing too much then I'll cool off. Otherwise it's usually one round of 9 and one round of 18 per week.

[mirv]

i'm very fortunate to have a pretty inexpensive walking-only membership at a local course for $55 a month. so yes, i do budget for that $55 to be automatically withdrawn from my account on the 8th of every month.

[PiKapp23]

I have a certain amount of money that goes into my 'golf fund' every paycheck. It used to be about $50 a check, but as I've gotten raises the last couple years I have added to it so it's now about $250 per check. That money is for all things golf related. It's also my 'backup' money in case something happens and I need money. This year I received 2 bonuses from work and the money from both of those also went into my golf fund for new clubs and I'm planning a golf trip this summer with some buddies.

[MSB256]

i'm very fortunate to have a pretty inexpensive walking-only membership at a local course for $55 a month. so yes, i do budget for that $55 to be automatically withdrawn from my account on the 8th of every month.

Wow, that is pretty cheap... sweet deal, I'd walk if I could get a deal like that.

I have a certain amount of money that goes into my 'golf fund' every paycheck. It used to be about $50 a check, but as I've gotten raises the last couple years I have added to it so it's now about $250 per check. That money is for all things golf related. It's also my 'backup' money in case something happens and I need money. This year I received 2 bonuses from work and the money from both of those also went into my golf fund for new clubs and I'm planning a golf trip this summer with some buddies.

See, that's what I'm talkin about. That seems like how you do it if you're budgeting for it... a golf fund. Say I take 100 out of every paycheck... I can play twice for 90 dollars at a nice course and one bucket for ten bucks or I can play a decent course twice for 66 dollars and be able to hit the range about 4 times... good plan

[ChiChiIsMe]

We have a written budget for EVERYTHING. Know where every penny is going. Only pay cash. My budget for golf is $125.00/mo or $1500.00/yr. I bought a membership @ the local public for $625, and took a 5 day trip to Gulfport, MS for $600.00 and that leaves $275 for clubs/balls/etc.

[clearwaterms]

We have a budget in the sense of each of us (me and my wife) get pocket / carry money. We also use a credit card for most of our purchases that we diligently pay off every month. My wife keeps a close eye on the credit card and that dictates how much or how little we can spend on nonnecessities. Green's fee's come out of my spending money (pocket cash) and the amount of pocket cash we get varries based on how much the bills were for that month. Sometimes it is as little as $40 a week, and other times it can be as much as $100 a week, but it is usually around $60 or $80.

Savings, and not paying interest (when ever possible) on any credit line always take precidence.

I am recently married (will be a year this month) and have found the bulk majority of the fights the first year were about money, and by and large, both of us think the other spends to much. We decided to take the route of everything in one pool, meaning my wife and I have just joint accounts. Also, we split everything 50/50, meaning we both get the same spending money, and share the same burden, all of the money is "our money". Because I am a better big picture, and she is much more detail oriented, I set the budget, and she makes sure we follow it. Fights aside, it works well for us, and we lessened our debt load, increased our savings, along with furnishing our house in the first year of our marriage.

I guess my only real advise when it comes to budget and money, is be honest with each other, and figure out what works best for the two of you.

[GaijinGolfer]

I budget for golf in that I know how much money I need per month to cover my bills and the rest is mine to use however I want.
Getting a membership is going to save me a lot of money on golf this year. I pay $350 a year for unlimited golf. I used to pay $10-$14 for every round (9 holes) and could only afford to play once a week, but this year I intend to play at least 2-3 times a week.
In the past year Ive been a lot better about making meals at home instead of going out to eat and that saves a lot of money too. Also, when I go shopping I have a set plan of what I need before I go in. I go in, get what I need and get out. I find that cuts down on impluse purchases.

[NM Golf]

I spend exactly $0.00 on golf. Well not really, but I don't spend any money from my main job or joint bank account.

I learned early that any money missing from the account was an automatic reason for my lovely wife to start complaining that I play too often. So I went and got a job at a golf course. I get free golf, range balls, cart, etc and about 1/2 off equipment. And on top of that they pay me! So that money goes into my seperate bank account to pay for things I need for golf. I also do some odd jobs for additional cash. Basically if she doesn't contribute to the account she doesn't have any say in what it's spent on.

So basically I spend very little because of my job and I don't involve my better half in what I do spend. Golf is an expensive sport. If I paid full price for everything that I do it would cost me around $8,000 to $10,000 a year at least.

[TomDonS]

I turned ALL the finances over to my wife. She takes care of ALL money, bills, and purchases. All big purchases, expenses are a joint decision. She gives me a decent allowance that I can afford day to day expenses. The best thing i've ever done. I wish I did it 8 years ago.

[schapman]

Seems like some other wise financial decisions here. I follow the same formula. All our income gets pooled then we each get an allowance each pay period. Let's us still have fun while paying down debt and neither of us can complain about random purchases.