Paycheck in. Paycheck out. That’s the extent of financial planning for some people. But others are much better at setting up a personal monthly budget and following it.
See also: Test your money savings skills.
To find out how Americans view their own budgeting prowess, the AARP Bulletin teamed up with the independent research firm of ORC International on a national poll. Here’s what they found.
American Adults and Their Personal Budget
| Ages 18-49 | 50-plus | |
| Do you have a monthly budget that you try to follow? | ||
| Yes | 71% | 69% |
| No | 29% | 31% |
| If you don’t follow a monthly budget, what’s the main reason? | ||
| Not worth my time | 22 | 21 |
| Don’t have time | 20 | 5 |
| Spend all my earnings | 15 | 12 |
| Tried, didn’t work | 14 | 14 |
| Don’t know how to set one up | 9 | 4 |
| Someone else does it for me | 4 | 5 |
| Another reason | 16 | 39 |
| If you don’t have a budget, do you wish you did? | ||
| Yes | 36 | 25 |
| No | 64 | 75 |
The results were taken from a survey of 1,019 adults age 18 and older conducted Feb. 23-26, 2012.
Also of interest: Go a week without spending any money.
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