Do
you find that your money talks to you but all it says is bye bye, have you ever thought of preparing a budget plan, but you
think it is to hard to do? Having a plan for your money isn’t that difficult and it can help you to do the things that
you really want to do.
Start by using an easy budget planner these are readily available as a free down load from a multitude of web sites
or you can use a simple spreadsheet. first you will need to decide whether your budget will be a weekly, fortnightly or monthly
guide. The best way to decide is to match your pay period to the budget as this will make it a lot simpler. Once you’ve
decided, make sure all the numbers you write down are for the same period.
When you have worked out how much is coming in and going out you
will be able to see how much regular income you get and where that money goes over your chosen period of time. Take away your
total expenses from your total income to get your result.
The result will show you whether you are spending more than you earn, or if you
have money left over after expenses to use for other things.
Is the result what you were expecting? If you are spending all of
your income or more your budget can show you areas where you might be able to change you’re spending habits and start
to save or invest in another area.
If you need to make a change to your spending habits, you might like to sort your expenses into two
groups: Things you need (a roof over your head) and things you don’t, remember it’s your budget so you can decide
what you think is essential and what you might be able to do without.
If you have any money left over after you have completed your budget
planner, think about how that money could be used, getting debt under control is important, and you might choose to review
your loan or credit card repayment, or you could organize a regular deduction into a separate savings or investment account
or invest in the property market.
Whatever you decide to do make sure that you put any extra money to good use and have a
plan like leaving your credit card at home, take lunch to work instead of paying exorbitant prices at the shops, consider
a prepaid option for your mobile phone and finally make a shopping list for groceries and stick to it!
It will be hard to
stick to a budget if you don’t know what you want to do with the money you save. It is essential to have goals so that
you know what you’re driving towards, and they do not have to be big. Your goals will depend on a lot of things, like
your age and your family commitments.
Save for something that is important to you or your family, get your debt under control,
save for a deposit on a home or investment property and plan for retirement (yes even if you are young) the sooner you start on this path the better off you will be later on
in life, remember things have a way of changing when you least expect it so remember to consider protecting any asset you buy BEFORE YOU BUY IT!
Think about your goals, and then work
out how much it will cost to achieve them, using your budget you can work out how much money you have left over after your
expenses to save to save for a deposit on some property, either a family home or investment. Then you can plan how long it
will take to get the amount you need.
1. Remember to be realistic, if you plan to cut
out all the extras you will not stick to your budget.
2. Be very specific as you are more likely to achieve your goals if you know what you want and most importantly
why.
3. Set a time frame you are
more likely to motivate to achieve that goal.
Planning unexpected expense
is a good idea so put some money aside for emergencies. Build it up gradually if you need to but remember the idea is to use
this fund only for unexpected expenses, and remember to top the fund up if you have to use some of it.
