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1992-03-24
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501 lines
Biweekly Budget Program
Thank you for considering this program. This is a Shareware pro-
gram. The Shareware concept of marketing can save computer users much
money if they support it by registering programs with the author.
After examining the program, if you decide it is one which is useful
to you, you are honor-bound to register it by sending $20 to:
Richard S. Haseltine
RR3 Box 830
Orrington, Maine, 04474
When you register the program, any updated copies will be mailed to
you free for a period of one year from the date of your registration.
The author will give serious consideration to any suggestions you send
him for improving the program. This program has been tested by 10 users,
and their suggestions have improved the program many-fold. Please let me
hear from you, too.
You may distribute copies of your unregistered version of the program
freely. Be sure to clear the BUDGDATA file before doing so, as it may
contain your personal and private data. If you are a commercial distri-
butor, your charges to your customers must not exceed $5, and permission
must be obtained from the author of the program at the above address.
Disclaimer:
Users of *BUDGET* accept this disclaimer or warranty:
"*BUDGET* is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties,
expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warran-
ties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The
author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential,
which may result from the use of *BUDGET*, or its related pro-
grams, *INITBUDG* and *BUDSETUP*."
General Description of BUDGET
The total of the money received from age 18 to age 65 amounts to
a small fortune. Yet the majority of the elderly find that most of that
money is gone, just when they need it most. This program is designed
to prevent that from happening to you. I believe the primary reason
for this is a very simple one....a failure to give any serious
consideration to the use of that small amount that is left each payday
after one pays the bills that are due. A sub-reason may be that one does
not have a clear picture of his financial status constantly before him.
This program utilizes the old concept of envelope-budgeting. Each
item of expenditure was assigned to an envelope into which the proper
amount was placed each payday. When the bill came due, the money
was in the envelope to pay it. The envelopes were filed in a shoe-box.
The concept was fine, but actually doing it involved having the right
amount of dollars and cents for each envelope. To say the least, the
system was a bit unwieldy.
Using a computer makes the 'envelope' system a snap. The personal
checking account becomes the 'shoebox'. Program strings, or titles, be-
come the 'envelopes'. The system is dynamic, unlike many static budget
programs that merely list your budget and periodically compare where you
are to where you should be financially. In this program you are con-
stantly working within your budget on a week-to-week basis. You have
a constant picture of all your finances, and an opportunity to make the
wisest decision, concerning the small amount left over each week, right
then. Unless seriously considered, those small amounts have a way of
just up and disappearing during the coming weeks. The importance of this
may not be clear to you at this moment, but after using BUDGET for six
months, you'll see what I mean.
What To Do First
Everyone:
Make a copy of this documentation on your printer:
1. Place program disk in Drive A
2. Set up page length for your printer and
turn the printer on.
3. Type from DOS: COPY BUDGET.DOC PRN
Hard Drive Users:
BUDGET consists of three programs and two data files:
1. BUDSETUP.EXE
2. INITBUDG.EXE
3. BUDGET.EXE
4. BUDGDATA
5. CLRVALUE
Copy each of these onto your hard drive in the same directory path.
Do not try to run the programs from Drive A or Drive B. You'll run
into trouble when you try to save data. The computer detects your
hard drive, and the Savedata routines are specialized for your type
drive and your choice as to where to save data backup copies.
Floppy Drive users:
On a blank disk, make a back-up copy of this program disk:
1. Insert Dos disk in Drive A
2. Type: DISKCOPY A: B: <enter>
Instructions come onto the screen telling you to insert Source disk
in Drive A and Target disk in Drive B. If you do not have a drive B,
then instructions will follow telling you when to change disks.
Running BUDSETUP.EXE
1. Type BUDSETUP
Hard drive users:
You will be asked to decide where you want your backup data put.
Your choices are to have no backups (not very wise), to put it on your
hard drive (not very wise), or to put it on the disk in drive A. If you
choose the latter, have a back-up disk in Drive A. Your choice is then
saved.
Everyone:
A budget screen is displayed and you are given the choice to change
the colors if you desire. If you answer 'N' the program ends. Otherwise
each choice of background and foreground colors will be made for all the
parts of the program. Instruction prompts appear regularly at the bottom
of the screen. You can change all the items, or only some. When done, the
color values are saved and the program ends.
Your First Session
Preparation:
Each 'envelope' will be called a budget account from now on. Write
out your budget items on paper in the following format:
Code (5 characters) Interest Escrow Balance Payment Frequency
'Code' is an abbreviation of an account. A mortgage with People's Heri-
tage Bank could be abbreviated as 'PHMTG'. Please use 'Gas' for the car
operating account and 'Groc' for your grocery account. Make your last
account 'Misc'.
Time-Payment Accounts:
Please list all your Time-Payment accounts first. These are ac-
counts like a mortgage, car payment, or credit card account. They all
charge you interest per month on an unpaid balance, and generally run
for several years. It will help if you number the accounts. The pro-
gram allows up to nineteen Time Payment accounts, and a total of 38
accounts in all, including the T/P accounts.
'Interest' means the ANNUAL rate (not monthly). You will usually
be able to find this on your last statement. If only the monthly rate
is given, multiply it by 12 to get your annual rate.
'Escrow' amounts are usually connected with mortgage accounts.
They are the amounts the bank requires each month in order to pay
insurance costs and taxes.
'Balance' refers to the total amount you owe....the outstanding
balance owed on the account. This can also usually be found on your
monthly statement. If not, you may call your bank.
'Payment' means how muc