Do you have a budget?

Budgets are very important and everyone should have one to make sure you stay on track. A budget should be used when you are planning a wedding, saving for a family vacation and to manage your household budget. A budget should be planned and should include everyone in your household. Why? Because if you know the budget for dining out is $1,000 for the year and at the end of the year, the family spent $2,000 you can’t get mad if you didn’t communicate to everyone in the household what the yearly dining out budget was for that year.
Your budget should include paying yourself first. This means before you pay anyone else put some money aside for yourself; this is your retirement plan.

Everyone knows where their money income comes from-you will include your paychecks, interest income, tax refunds, stock dividends, bonus payments and gifts of money.

You will determine your required monthly bills that you must pay. These items are your mortgage/rent payment, car loans, property taxes, tithes, utilities, groceries, supplies, childcare, commuting expenses, medical insurance such as health, dental, life and pharmacy.


You will determine your “wants” budget. You know, I want to purchase those “fire shoes at Dillard’s” or “I want to go to Jamaica.” This is where things can get interesting because once you put everything on paper; you will have a realistic view of what your income is and what it should be to cover everything on your budget.

You will need to always plan for the unexpected. How many times when something occurred, we say “boy, I didn’t plan for that.” Your unexpected or contingency funds should include replacing or repairing a tire or tires, replacing your battery in your car, replacing the hot water heater, I just named a few.

Once you’ve created your household budget, then you need to start tracking your expenses and income. After a couple of months, you should get a good feel for how you’re doing and where the money goes.

And while it’s nice to remove the stress of falling behind on your bills keep in mind that you need to enjoy life too. You can do this by changing your purchasing habits or downsize-you might be surprised with how simple life can be when you’ve got your budget and your life in balance.

Budgets are easy to develop but the difficult part is sticking to your budget and tracking your monthly expenses.

I included a drafted budget. You will develop one to fit your personal household.

                                Monthly        Quarterly        Semi-annually     Yearly total
Income
Wages
Interests/dividends
Expenses
 Mortgage/rent
Utilities
 Gas
 Electric
 Water
 Phone

Daily Living
 Groceries
 Household supplies
 Contingency Fund
Entertainment
 Shows
 Movies
 Refreshment
Trip
 Airline
 Hotel
 Taxi
 Amusement park
 Food
 Tips



I am not nor do I consider myself an expert. You can always seek a CPA (Certified Professional Accountant) or a CFP (Certified Financial Planner) to help you get on the right track or to answer financial questions.