How To Budget Your Personal Budgeting
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If you’re finding it tough to make ends meet in this economy, have lost your job or taken a pay cut – it’s time to get serious about creating a budget and sticking to it. Everyone is forced to make some tough decisions regarding their finances in order to ride out this economic downturn – from their credit card usage to their savings plans – here are several tips for staying on budget to help you weather out the storm:
How much money do you need?
First, figure out how much you pay each month in necessary expenses – living expenses, debt repayments, bills. Factor in savings and some money for entertainment. This will tell you how much income you need to cover each month. If you aren’t making enough, eliminate more from your expenses (get rid of cable tv, cell phone, use less energy, etc) or make more money. You can’t stay on a budget if you don’t earn enough to cover your expenses.
Stick to the budget
Once you know what you must pay for each month, and have given yourself a small allowance for entertainment (hey, all work and no play is never good!), stick to it. Don’t buy anything that puts you over budget during the month. Write down all purchases and bill payments and keep a close eye on the finances to be sure you’re staying the course.
Avoid large purchases or delay them if possible
Before buying anything that is outside the budget but you feel you must have, give yourself a 24 hour cooling off period before buying. Think about the purchase. Determine whether or not you absolutely need it, or could do without it. If after 24 hours you still think you need the purchase, figure out how to pay cash for it by adjusting your budget temporarily to get the money for it. Don’t buy with credit or you defeat the purpose of working so hard. Often, you’ll find that you don’t feel as strongly about the item if you wait 24 hours instead of making an impulse buy. If you rely solely on emotions to make a purchase you stand a higher chance of making the wrong one. Waiting 24 hours gives you time to make practical decisions about the purchase.
It’s a family effort
It’s not possible for one person of a partnership to create and stick to the budget, it has to be a team effort. Both must be on the same page financially and both must agree to stick to the budget. It’s important that everyone has equal rights and say in the financial decisions, but expect some heated discussions if you have differing views on money management! For children and teenagers, you can start teaching them valuable financial lessons by giving them a set allowance and helping them learn how to manage their money. Older teenagers should think about a part time job and begin taking more responsibility for their own care and needs.
Debt repayment
One of the major reasons people should budget and stay within that budget is to pay off existing debts. Think about it – if you didn’t have debt repayments your income would go a lot further, wouldn’t it? Make paying off debt a priority, especially of those smaller nagging debts that keep hanging around. Once your debts are paid off, you can relax the budget a bit and give yourself more money for entertainment and save more to avoid having to go into debt again in the future.
These tips will help you stay on your budget and weather tough economic storms for long periods of time. Once you make these slight adjustments in your financial habits, you may find you don’t mind living frugally!
Elizabeth Williams, Editor-in-Chief for CreditCardFlyers.com
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One of the most important things to include in any budget is the payment you make toward any debt you have beside your mortgage. This includes credit cards, student loans, and any other personal loans. According to the April 2009 Nilson Report, in 2008 over seventy-eight percent of American households had one or more credit cards. The Nilson Report also states that at the end of 2008, the average American household had an average credit card debt of $8,329.00. In today’s economy these numbers aren’t helping anyone and we as Americans are only sinking deeper and deeper into debt as we are being laid off from our jobs and our savings.
Sometimes its hard to grit your teeth and write the check for your credit card payment, but the best thing you can do for you and your family when creating a budget is to push as much of your income as you can toward paying off your credit cards, especially high interest credit cards. This is definitely an area of your budget that I would encourage you to invest the money you are saving in other areas of your budget. One way you can do this is by figuring how much you are saving in other areas of your budget. Maybe you’ve cut your utility bill in half by switching to energy efficient appliances or you could be saving $100 a week in fuel because you choose to start carpooling to work with a co-worker. No matter where the savings are coming from, after you get a figure, you should take that amount and start putting it in a separate savings account along with the money you use to make your monthly payments on your debt. That way when it comes time to make a payment on that high interest credit card, you can start paying a little extra on it. Even if paying extra on it every month decreases your monthly payment on your statement, you should still keep paying the same amount and you will be amazed at how easily it will be to pay down those credit cards.
You may be wondering where are student loans in all of this? Student loans are a priority, but not as much of a priority as your credit card debt. This is because student loans usually have a reasonable interest rate and they may shoe up on your credit report, but I don’t believe they hurt your credit as much as credit cards do. You should still be actively making payment on your student loans if you have any, because even though the interest may be reasonable, interest is interest and the longer it take you to pay them off, the more you’ll end up paying on them in the end.
This is an important part of any personal budget and should be consider as much of a priority as making your house payment. You will be amazed at not only how much it will help your credit to pay off your personal debt, but also how much stress it will relieve knowing that its being taken care of and you are doing something that won’t just benefit you now, but it will also benefit you in the future.
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A home budget is often considered a frustrating venture into the world of managing money. Getting into the habit of following a budget might seem like a chore, at first. This is especially difficult for people who are impulse buyers and free spenders. But using a budget can end up saving plenty of money, if you take the time to learn how to live with one!
The first step in setting up your home budget is to write down all your income and expenses. Try to include upcoming expenses or those that occur only once a year. By including them now, the bills won’t be a surprise and the money to pay them will be readily available. If you’re not sure how to set up a home budget, plenty of free forms and guidelines available online will help you get started.
Always include “fun” money in your budget. A budget isn’t there to restrict your spending or cut out all the entertainment. Rather, it helps you see at a glance where your money is going. It allows you to manage income and expenses far more effectively. You may also discover that what seems like small purchases add up to big money. This helps you curb costs and redirect money towards better expenditures.
To help you stay on track with your home budget in the first few weeks, stop carrying cash. It’s easy to pull out a twenty when something catches your eye. The less cash you carry, the harder it becomes to make that unnecessary purchase. Even a dollar here and a dollar there add up quickly. Before you know it, the cash you had is all gone.
If you prefer paying with cash over debit or credit cards, decide before you leave home how much you need. Only take that much and no more when you go shopping. You can’t spend what you don’t have!
Using a list is one of the best ways to stay on track with spending, especially in places like the grocery store. Training yourself to follow a list for purchases helps you eliminate impulse buys. Also, a list helps direct your course through the store. Wandering about is just what store owners want you to do, it increases spending and makes them more profitable.
Using a budget doesn’t mean you have to become a coupon-cutter, but coupons do add up to big savings in the end. Clearance stores and discounted items also lead to savings. That money could go towards a reward for yourself, like a trip or a night on the town. It’s important to remember to please yourself, even if you are on a budget. You just have to be careful with your spending and keep your eye on the prize!
Really, a home budget isn’t about tracking spending and income. It’s about self-control and sticking to a plan to achieve a result. A home budget helps retrain your thinking to avoid wasting money in light of other, better goals.
If you find sticking to your home budget difficult, use the buddy system. When faced with the urge to buy something, call your budget buddy. Ask the person if he or she agrees with your desire to purchase the item. They’ll help distract you from the craving to spend and help keep you on track. Even better, take the person shopping with you!
A new habit takes about two weeks before starting to settle into permanent behavior. Getting into the habit of sticking to your budget is worth the effort. Before long, you’ll be seeing a definite change in your spending and more money at the end of the month. You’ll have a good feeling about yourself, proud of what you’ve accomplished. You might even be amazed at how much money you’ve saved!
Mike has been online since 2004. He can show you 3 simple steps to turn your Internet Marketing Business profitable. Affiliate Marketing Opportunity
Mike also publishes “Profit-Unlimited Home Business Weekly“. Take a look and receive some bonus ebooks.
Now more than ever is the importance of budgeting your money a must in today’s economy. The most important thing to remember when forming your budget is attitude. It is essentially up to you whether you follow your budget or not therefore by having a good attitude towards achieving your financial goals is imperative to your success. Budgeting your money allows you to save up for things that mean something to you. However, if you view budgeting in a negative light there is no way that you are going to be able to achieve what you want. Using your attitude to further promote your goals through efforts of saving and accruing will enable you achieve these goals quicker and easier. Now that you have instilled your attitude to enforce your ability to save you are equipped the right reasoning to go forward with your budget.
Now that you have had an attitude adjustment, you must remember to customize your budget to fix your needs and wants. For if you take on a general approach you get lost in the notions that others live by instead of your own. For every person has different incomes, bills, and expenses so there is no way a general budget could work. However you can use general guidelines based on percentages for the amount of money that should be distributed to rent, food, and entertainment. For a budget shows you where you place your importance and allows you to see where more funding must be placed in order to reach your financial goals. If you do not have planned financial goals there is no way you are going to be able to save up for something that is important to you. Make sure that before you start a budget you know what direction you want to go. Planned financial goals will help to eliminate impulse spending.
Setting up a proper budget that is customized to your needs and wants will allow you to see where your money is going. In seeing the real allocation of your money, you may determine that they way you are living your life needs a much needed adjustment. Or you may realize that you are so close to your goals that you might want to adjust it so that you achieve your goals quicker. Whatever the case may be looking towards the future is a great approach to take when trying to determine where you want to be down the road. In order to get to where you want to go in life it takes planning. In setting up a proper budget you are on your way to achieving all of your financial goals with ease. Make sure that you are not sacrificing too much for you may become stressed causing your attitude to slip back where it once was. Saving money is a great way to see how you are able to manage your money with out any other extraneous factors.
Jeff Nelson gives advice on money management. His advice helps you to eliminate your debt faster. To make online budgeting easy and set up your Budget for each category you are targeting, visit www.mint.com
Creating a business budget is very similar to creating a personal budget. However there are some differences. When you own a business, taxes are not directly taken out of your income, which makes your income and any quarterly tax payments extra important to track. Having an accurate and realistic budget will help you make accurate spending decisions and make it easier to predict profits. Which means the more frequently you track you costs, the better.
Here are the recommended steps for creating your business budget:
Step 1: Determine how frequently you want to track your costs and income. Generally, it is advisable to choose every week or every month. At first it may seem like a time-consuming task to track and enter your spending every week, but it will pay off in the long run and as you become accustomed to it, you’ll find that it really only takes you a few minutes every week.
Step 2: Determine your expenses. This means your operating costs like your phone and web hosting fees, the costs of your taxes, the costs of outsourcing and the costs for marketing, publicity and so on. Make a list of all categories you anticipate having costs and all areas where you already know your expenses.
Step 3: Now the fun stuff! You get to predict your income. The best bet is to predict on the conservative side. That way if you have a bad month, your budget isn’t blown; however, when you have a good month, and you will have many good months, you’ll have extra money to work with.
Step 4: Track your expenses and income and review your budget often. Your budget isn’t set in stone. It is a living breathing thing that will change as your business changes. If you find you’re spending more in one category, make the adjustments in your budget. A business budget isn’t a diet or a strict regimen, it is a spending plan.
Step 5: Realize that in the beginning, it is likely that you’ll have more expenses than income. This is normal for most start up businesses. Track the difference between what you do spend in each category and what you planned on spending. This will help you predict the future and keep your budget realistic and accurate.
Budgeting your small business is good business. Without a budget you’re unable to make accurate predictions and keep your business profitable and going strong. If you’re serious about being a successful business owner, you can’t do without a business budget. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be difficult. A simple spreadsheet and a little time can make all the difference.
Eddie Lamb owns LiveMortgageFree.com a website devoted to helping homeowners, first time buyers or tenants. You’ll get your own exclusive access to the program and bonuses that will get you on the road to living Mortgage Free and will change the way you view money forever. For more information visit: LiveMortgageFree
At the end of every fiscal year companies tallying up their scores to see how they’ve finished. Unlike the game of golf having the highest score is cause for celebration, being in the black you’ve done well and deserve some congratulations. If there isn’t a soirée going on in your business maybe it’s because you didn’t plan for a year-end party, and that could be the direct result of your failure to budget.
To be successful in business, budget cannot be a taboo word in your company. One of the skill sets you as an owner or manager need to possess is the ability to plan ahead, this includes that ability to budget. If you’re a visionary and lack budgeting skills, then stop reading and go find someone who is. So before we discuss budgeting tips, let’s first discuss what a budget is and isn’t.
What a Budget Is:
A budget is a proposed plan to monitor financial activity over a period of time. A budget is a planning tool an owner and/or manager should be using to measure trends over a fixed interval; this includes inflow, outflow, and asset/ liability growth. Finally a budget is a resource to forecast an assumed outcome.
What a Budget is NOT:
A budget is not the law; it is not to be used as a means of accountability and to ensure financial integrity. A budget is not to be used a ceiling to spending, and a method of absolute control. And finally a budget is not a guarantee so financial and business success.
So now that we have defined what a budget is, let us get to how to properly use and understand how a budget actually benefits a company.
The budget should be put together and approved at least 1-2 months prior to the start of the new fiscal year. This will allow for key employees to look at what the company is trying to accomplish and what is being aimed for. So for this to happen planning will need to take place approximately 3-6 months before the start of the new fiscal year, this of course depends on the complexity and size of the company.
The budget should reflect the direction that the company is headed in; this of course is handed down by the CEO and/or Board of Directors. Everything about the budget should point towards the strategic plan the company has adopted. The budget should also be multifaceted, not only should you include a Profit & Loss operating budget, but also a Balance Sheet budget to help track cash inflows and outflows.
Finally the budget should be realistic. An exponential increase in revenues without any foundational proof or purpose can lead to fiscal year failure. Again remember the budget is for mapping out trends in an attempt to forecast growth or decline. All the pieces must fit, in business there is usually a cause for increased revenues (hint: check for the reason in your expenses section!).
To summarize let’s recap the key points:
1. Budget is not taboo
2. Budget is a proposed plan
3. Budget is not the law
4. Approval should allow for time to disseminate throughout the company
5. Reflects the strategic plan and heading of the company
6. The budget should be realistic, for all growth there should be a reason
Jayson Cardwell is the Founder and CEO of Cardwell Financial Group, Inc. a not-for-profit and small/mid-size business consultancy and services company. Cardwell Financial Group, Inc. specializes in helping executive directors, owners, managers, and entrepreneurs realize their dreams of owning and managing prosperous and successful firms. They accomplish this by providing Financial Management, Analysis, Strategic Planning, Business Analysis, Executive Development, and Accounting Services and Consulting. For more information about Cardwell Financial Group, Inc and how they can help you visit them on the web at www.CardwellFinancial.com, or e-mail them at Info@CardwellFinancial.com.
For many people creating a family budget is an exercise in frustration. Where to start, how to set it up, should I use budgeting software? Are all questions that nearly everyone asks? And then when they do get it set up and start tracking the money coming in and the money going out something happens. An emergency or an impulse buy that screws the whole thing up.
Unfortunately the majority of people give up on their family budget before they ever give it a chance to do what it is supposed to do. One thing everyone needs to understand is that a budget is not a rigid thing. It is flexible and needs to allow for those unintended purchases or emergencies that life is full of. And if you stick with it before long it will be a cash flow planning device you cannot live without.
That’s all a budget really is, a cash flow plan for your money. That’s right, your money, which should be working for you, not the other way around. A budget allows you to track your income and expenses, giving each dollar a task each and every month. This gives you a good picture for paying bills, setting aside savings, and planning for the future.
If you are having trouble creating a family budget here are 7 tips you can use to make the process easier. Get a piece of paper and list out income on one side and expenses on the other.
1. Calculate your monthly income by gathering three months worth of pay stubs and averaging the monthly earnings.
2. Figure out your monthly bills by averaging the last three months worth. Do this for expenses such as rent, mortgage, utilities, phone bills, car payments or other fixed monthly expenses. You can also do this for those monthly expenses that move up and down from month to month such as credit card bills and groceries.
3. Subtract your monthly expenses from you income and see if you have any money left over. You will start to see areas where you might be spending too much money and can cut back on. This can free up money for other purposes.
4. Now that you have everything listed out in front of you you can start assigning certain amounts of money to certain expenses. As you make those payment note them in your budget to see if you are staying on track.
5. As you find ways to cut expenses you can also start designating a certain amount of money that goes into savings or retirement accounts every month.
6. Your first budget may not work out quite right. It takes most people around three months to start getting their budget working. Be patient and keep working at it, before long it will become second nature and you will have control over your money.
7. Once you have a good grasp on your hand written budget look into getting personal budgeting software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money. This will make your budget much easier to work with and they offer additional feature that can help you plan your financial future.
These are the basic steps for creating a family budget that will get you started and on your way to taking back control of you financial life. If you stick with it before long you will start to realize how much money you used to waste and how much better it feels to know where your money is going and how it is working for you.
Andrew Bicknell researches and writes on a variety of subjects. To learn more about creating a family budget please visit his website Household Budgets by clicking here.
Here are some of the favorite tips for budget travel in Europe. Actually, these budget travel tips apply to any country that you want to visit!
Budget Travel Tip # 1
Eating with the locals instead of the tourists. This way, you will save some money and enjoy the local food at the same time. Restaurants or eateries that are popular with local residents tend to be the ones with the best meals at a low or reasonable price.
Budget Travel Tip # 2
For a quick and economical breakfast, pick up a roll, some fresh cold cuts and a piece of fruit from the local market. Then enjoy a delicious sandwich and a cup of coffee in the local park. Take in the view and local life around you. You may end up with some great photos while at it.
Budget Travel Tip # 3
When eating out, choose the fixed price menu and the house wine for the best value. These dishes are often a good way to sample the local cuisine.
Budget Travel Tip # 4
Overnight trains are a great way to get from place-to-place and rest or sleep. During your budget travel in Europe, be sure to bring a meal, bottle of water and snack along. That way, you can save money and enjoy your packed meal.
Budget Travel Tip # 5
Snap away! Take loads of pictures of the people you meet during your budget travel in Europe. If you are using film camera, develop them when you get back home as developing at tourist locations can be expensive. Of course, if you are using a digital camera, you can take as many shots and print only your favorite ones.
Budget Travel Tip # 6
Find a website that offers some photographs of local attractions or upload your own from your digital camera. Personalize these shots with an epostcard and email them back to family and friends at home.
Budget Travel Tip # 7
Learn a few basic words of the local language. It will be easier and cheaper to buy things.
Budget Travel Tip # 8
When making large purchases, it is always best to use a credit card. That way you cash lasts longer.
Budget Travel Tip # 9
Like credit cards, ATM cash transactions provide the best exchange rates. You will avoid the sometimes costly fees charged by hotels and currency services when you need cash.
Budget Travel Tip # 10
Many travel locations provide student discounts, senior discounts, etc. If you are not sure a, always ask.
Budget Travel Tip # 11
Plan your budget travel wisely. There are some inexpensive souvenirs that you can get from your budget travel in Europe. For example, stickers, fridge magnets or postcards. For more expensive purchases, remember that the further you go from the tourist attraction, the less expensive the souvenirs will be.
Budget Travel Tip # 12
Go on a tour of the city. A bus pass or subway token is a great avenue for meeting the local people and sightseeing. The public transportation service of most European cites is efficient, clean, safe and easy to navigate.
We all know that we should have a personal budget. And we also know that we need to stick to it otherwise we may have financial problems. However, the fact is that it is very difficult for us to really stick to the budget we have created.
So, you may wonder if there are ways to make it easier for you to stick to the budget. The answer is certainly YES. But you will need to have the determination to do so. You will be able to stick to your budget if you can cut down a part of your expenses every month.
The first thing you need to do is to fine tone your lifestyle. For example, if you used to be dining out three days a week, you will need to cut it down to something like once a week. You can save a lot by cooking yourself. In fact, cooking yourself does not only help you financially, but also help you to keep yourself healthier since you will tend to take more fat and sugar when you are eating out.
If you have some credit card debts, you may consider moving all the debt to one single loan. This will help you to save a lot of interest. As a matter of fact, the interest rate of the credit card is usually very high. And you will be able to get a lower interest rate when you move the credit card debts to a single loan. If you have a home, you may also consider a mortgage re-financing. This is because a secured loan will usually be of lower interest rate. Of course, determination is again the key here, you have to control yourself so that you do not use your credit card so often. Otherwise you will only get some new debts after the process of re-financing.
It is also important to cut down your spending on your utility bills. In fact the bills can be quite significant in summer since you will probably turn on the air-conditioner at home. However, in most cases you may not really need to turn on the air-conditioner. Turn it off whenever you can. This will help you to cut the spending on your utility bills, at least in summer.
One last thing is that, you should try your best to keep track of your expenses so that you will know when you are nearly out of budget. And this will help you to stick to it effectively.
The author has great interest in finance. You can check his blog on Personal Finance. Be sure to check Local Mortgage Leads and Mini Forex Trading.