If you are reading this, odds are you have a budget you either cannot stay on or are worried about staying on. It doesn’t matter how big of a budget you have.
As humans we naturally like to push boundaries and go overboard even with the smallest of freedoms. Sticking to a budget is hard and takes a lot of self-discipline.
Here are a few tips to make sure you don’t over spend.
Determine Budget Income
The very first step when it comes to a budget is establishing what your budget is. If you work a consistent salary job then you have a very good idea of exactly how much money you make a month.
If you are paid hourly and your hours fluctuate then your paychecks will not be the same amount. If your paychecks are always changing then you will have to make changes monthly to your budget.
Establishing your budget simply is figuring out exactly how much money you have.
Identify Budget Expenses
After you know how much money you have to spend you need to figure out how to spend it. Make a list of every single bill and payment you normally make.
Figure out how much money you usually spend on needs such as taxes, gas, groceries, toiletries, etc. To help with this you should keep all of your receipts.
After you have made your list, put all of the price values down and add them up. Your final number will be how much you spend on your needs.
Because gas fluctuates and so does your grocery bill add a little bit of extra money to these categories for a cushion.
Needs vs. Wants
After you have figured out your needs you can subtract that number from your total and figure out how much you have left for your wants. Your wants will probably be different every month based on what’s going on.
If you know you will have certain expenses a particular month such as birthdays, events or outings you can plan for them here. Same as above make a list and distribute the rest of your money.
You want to know where every single dollar is going.
Savings
If you are fortunate to have extra money you don’t know what to do with save it. Saving is so important.
If you ever find yourself in a tight spot you will want to know there is a cushion there to support you. Also if you know there is something coming up you can set aside money for it so your entire wants budget does not have to go to it.
Most people who stick to a budget live a very organized life. Most of the time they have nice homes with nice things inside they have worked really hard to get.
It would be so horrible if something happened or someone broke into your home and that was jeopardized. To prevent something like this from happening you need to invest in a good home security company.
I found a company called Smith Monitoring that offers some of the absolute best features. Smith Security will install security cameras in your home that can be viewed live at any time via an app on your smart phone.
This way all of your things you have worked so hard for will be protected.
