For this day and age, making up a monthly budget plan is a necessity. But, you don’t have to be a financial wiz to come up with a good system. It’s best not to over think the process. Generally, unless you invest your money, it’s not necessary to rely on any type of financial institution or broker to help you spend and save your money. There are many free and low cost systems that you can run right from your own computer that will keep you in checks and balances every month. Some are more elaborate than others and which one you use all depends on the complexity of your monthly monetary responsibilities.
Being consistent is really the biggest key to staying within your monthly budget. The system is secondary to your regular bookkeeping recordings which can be tricky when there are two people sharing one income. If one or the other person is not precise with tracking their spending, it can throw your budget off beyond repair.
One of the things that is very important is to have one person deal with the financial record keeping each month so that there is no confusion to how much money is available at any given time. It may feel odd to think that you would be answering to someone else and as long as you know that you can trust that they are not being dishonest, in the long run, it will benefit both parties involved.
Here are the steps to take to setting up a monthly budget:
Step one: Gather the amount of steady monthly income and include that number in a spreadsheet or software program.
Step two: Keep track of everything you spend by whatever means possible.
Step three: Track every item by entering it into the spreadsheet or software program.
Step four: Subtract all bills, transactions, payments, monthly dues, groceries, gas, etc., from your monthly income amount.
Step five: Take what is left over and divide between the two of you as “spending money”, savings, or whatever you each decide to do with it.
Step six: Don’t be foolish or greedy. Sometimes it’s wise to set some of that money aside for unexpected events like the car breaking down or the dog getting sick. You can never know what can come up after you spend your leftover money on a plasma T.V.
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Vanessa Lea is an experienced Internet marketing professional who struggled over five years to become successful. After gathering her dignity and combining her strong work ethic with her positive mindset, she is now achieving her goals for success by providing knowledge, research and information to consumers seeking guidance when looking for quality products and services online. Her latest website helps you understand fire safety through education when searching for the right extinguisher for your home or business. This fire prevention safety site provides all the information you need for fire extinguisherselection and maintenance so that you too are fully prepared in any fire disaster. |