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Dedicated
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Home | Register for Budgeting Class | Shop & Save | Free Subscription |
, 2008 |
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Living a Better Life Basic Budgeting: for Those Who Hate to Budget Includes our printer friendly budget worksheets as pictured on my desk at the top of this Web site! There are many great budgeting and financial planning tools on the market today, in fact, we have several budget planners that we have personally reviewed and do highly recommend. These budget planning programs can be extremely useful and will help you stay on track year after year, but the most important thing is that you find something that works well for you and your family. If you try one budget system and it doesn't quite work for you, try another one or create your own! * * * If money is very tight and this is your first time starting a household budget you may be looking for something a little more simple, and maybe even more importantly, free! I understand; our family has been there too! Before we get to our free budgeting worksheets, don't forget that our Web site and free monthly Ezine, Living a Better Life, are practically overflowing with great money-saving tips (on hundreds of various topics!) so be sure to sign up for your free subscription if you haven't already. We are NOT just about family budgeting and finances; we feature thousands of tips to help you save money and stretch your dollars... on everything from groceries to family fun and how to live a better life, not by spending more money, but less! Please feel free to use our printer-friendly Basic Budgeting Worksheet (link below) to help you keep track of your monthly expenses and manage your income. I hope you will find this worksheet helpful when planning your household budget, you may even want to print out several copies and share them with your friends and family, or anyone that needs budgeting assistance. I've also added a Dealing with Debt Worksheet for listing creditors and debts, a Monthly Spending Worksheet for keeping track of your extra expenses each month, and an Annual Budget Worksheet to help you budget for your annual expenses such as taxes, insurance, warranties, school tuition, etc... so that you can afford to pay them as they come due! You will find all the worksheets listed below. Also, here are a few helpful guidelines when starting your household budget: FIGURING YOUR INCOME If
you're paid...
TOTAL = SURPLUS After filling out the Basic Budgeting Worksheet with your monthly income and expenses, you will either have a surplus (money leftover) or a shortage. A portion of your surplus should be budgeted for savings and yearly expenditures (use our Annual Budget Worksheet for assistance). TOTAL = SHORTAGE If your budget reveals a shortage then you need to either lower your expenses or increase your income, or maybe even both. If that is not possible at this time, work towards the goal of having at least a small monthly surplus as soon as possible, even if it's just $10. (You might also want to read my previous column 15 Ways to Create More Cash.) Then, continue to work diligently on your household budget throughout the coming months to increase that amount... I know you can do it!! Copyright © by Michelle Jones. All rights reserved. * * *
You will also find more free budget building tips and advice in our Article Index, tell a friend about us! Want more money-saving tips? Get a FREE subscription to our monthly Ezine!
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