How to Budget Your Money and Still Live Your Life

The Budget: The Most Powerful Financial Management Instrument

In this How to Budget Your Money and Still Live Your Life  article we start by  an example; To build a house, a carpenter uses a set of house designs. If he didn’t, the bathroom might not be noticed at all. Without a thorough set of design criteria, rocket scientists would never begin building on a new booster rocket. Despite this, most of us venture out into the world without a strategy or even a rudimentary understanding of finances.

A budget is a money plan that is essential to achieving our financial objectives. We will float aimlessly and wind up stranded on a faraway financial reef if we don’t have a plan.

You should construct this budget with your spouse or significant other if you have one. Sit down and figure out what your long and short-term financial goals are. Then map out your path to those objectives. Every journey begins with a single step, and the first step toward achieving your objectives is to create a budget that you and your partner can live with.

A budget should never be used to go on a financial fast. That isn’t going to work in the long run. Set aside a decent amount for amusement and the occasional luxury purchase, as well as realistic allocations for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, and insurance. Savings should always take precedence over consumption.

Even a tiny amount saved will assist you in meeting your long and short-term financial objectives. Many budget forms can be found on the internet. Simply type “free budget forms” into any search engine of your choice. You’ll get a lot of options. Print one out and collaborate with your partner or significant other on it. Both of you must be satisfied with the end product and believe that it is something you can stick to.

Why Should I Make a Budget?

You say you know where your money goes and you don’t need it all written down to keep up with it? I issue you this challenge. Keep track of every penny you spend for one month and I do mean every penny. You will be shocked at what the itty-bitty expenses add up to. Take the total you spent on just one unnecessary item for the month, multiply it by 12 for months in a year and multiply the result by 5 to represent 5 years. That is how much you could have saved AND drawn interest on in just five years. That, my friend, is the very reason all of us need a budget.

If we can get control of the small expenses that really don’t matter to the overall scheme of our lives, we can enjoy financial success.

The little things really do count. Cutting what you spend on lunch from five dollars a day to three dollars a day on every work day in a five day work week saves $10 a week… $40 a month… $480 a year… $2400 in five years….plus interest.

See what I mean… it really IS the little things and you still eat lunch everyday AND that was only one place to save money in your daily living without doing without one thing you really need. There are a lot of places to cut expenses if you look for them.

Set some specific long term and short term goals. There are no wrong answers here. If it’s important to you, then it’s important period.

If you want to be able to make a down payment on a house, start a college fund for your kids, buy a sports car, take a vacation to Aruba… anything… then that is your goal and your reason to get a handle on your financial situation now.

Many people believe that in order to save money they must make sacrifices. This may be true in some circumstances, but the truth is that there are many ways to live an enjoyable life while saving a surplus of money. What you need is a plan and a budget.

How to Build a Budget And Stick To It

Many of us have a tendency to overspend, and it is very difficult to stick to a budget. The key is to start small.

The first step in building a budget is setting up needs versus wants. It sounds simple, but many people have trouble differentiating between the two. When you have your needs covered, you can start making trade-offs with your wants.

The next step is figuring out how much money you need each month for basic living expenses like rent or mortgage payments, food, clothing etc. Once you know that number, divide that by the number of weeks in the month and then multiply by 4 (if you are earning per hour) or 5 (if you are on salary).

For example if your expenses are $2500 per month and there are 4 months in a year, you spend $10,000 on living expenses during the year.

Money Management Tips for Beginners: 5 Things You Need to Know in Order To Budget Your Way Out of Debt and Start Earning More Money

Managing your money is not the easiest thing to do. With new technologies coming out every day, it can be hard to keep track of your spending. In this article, we will talk about 5 things you need to know in order to budget your way out of debt and start earning more.

1. Put yourself on a fixed spending limit: This will keep you from overspending and help you save more money.

2. Create a budget: Create a budget using online money management software or by hand and see where the money goes. You need to take the time and make a budget for yourself. The first step is figuring out how much money you have coming in and how much money you are going out for a week. This way, you know what your income situation looks like and how much money you have left over for savings or spending on things that are not necessities.

3. Pay off your debts: Pay off your debts first and pay as much as possible to them each month, this will help you to save more and get out of debt quicker than paying other bills first.

4. Save for emergencies: Set aside 10% of what you earn to be used in an emergency fund or for life events that may happen that are out of your control such as the loss of a job, medical emergencies, etc., You should always try to save as much as possible because it gives you peace of mind knowing that you have a financial support for the rainy days.

5. Save for retirement: Saving for retirement is one of the most important things you can do for yourself.

Living on a $20/Day Food Budget for One Week

Today, we live in a world where having food on the table is not a guarantee. Food prices have increased over the years and budgets have become tight. However, there are many people who still struggle with hunger and poverty and thus can’t afford to buy groceries.

We often associate “cheap” with bad quality, but this is not always the case. There are ways of living on a $20/day budget that don’t involve cutting out all of life’s luxuries or starving yourself to death.

This article will go through different methods of saving money while still making nutritious and filling meals for one week on $20/day budget for food items.

4 Steps to Budgeting Your Money – The Only Guide You’ll Ever Need

Step 1: Know Your Income vs. Expenses

Knowing your income and expenses is the first step in budgeting. This will allow you to know how much money you have coming in and how much you are spending out on things that are not necessary.

I always find it helpful to look at my income vs. expenses chart. It helps me get a clear picture of what I am spending my money on so I can adjust accordingly if needed.

Step 2: Create a Budget That Works Best for Your Situation

A budget is a plan for the use of resources over a given time period. A budget will generally allocate money for expenses, savings, and discretionary spending.

A personal budget is used to keep track of what you spend money on each month. This includes your income and expenses. A business budget, on the other hand, is used to track how much money is coming in and going out of your company every month. It also shows how many sales were made during the month so you can see which products are more popular than others.

An expense is something that takes money out of your pocket or bank account during the time period you are making a budget for. Income is how much you earn or make during that same time period. If your expenses are higher than your income then it’s recommended to cut

Step 3: Track Your Spending Using the Right Software or Apps

This section is about how to track your spending using the right software or apps.

The first step is to track your income and expenses. Income includes all the money you make and expenses include all the money you spend. The next step is to categorize these amounts into appropriate categories like Savings, Rent, Utilities etc.. This helps with tracking your budget and staying on top of it.

The last step would be to use a software or an app that can help you with managing your accounts, so that you do not have any errors in calculation of income and expenditure of money.

Step 4: Make Regular Adjustments to Fit New Needs and Goals

Creating a budget is the first step to managing your money efficiently. The best way to plan your monthly budget is by creating an expense tracker spreadsheet.

Below are some of the things that you will need to do in order to create a monthly budget:

– Track your spending on a daily basis

– Create expense categories

– Set up a realistic budget

– Set up goal for each category

– Revisit and make necessary adjustments

Conclusion: How To Pay Off Your Debt with an Annual Dollar Cost Approach

In conclusion, to be able to pay off your debt, you need to make a conscious effort to plan for it. It really is as simple as adding an annual dollar cost approach.

Author: Simeon Bala

An Information technology (IT) professional who is passionate about technology and building Inspiring the company’s people to love development, innovations, and client support through technology. With expertise in Quality/Process improvement and management, Risk Management. An outstanding customer service and management skills in resolving technical issues and educating end-users. An excellent team player making significant contributions to the team, and individual success, and mentoring. Background also includes experience with Virtualization, Cyber security and vulnerability assessment, Business intelligence, Search Engine Optimization, brand promotion, copywriting, strategic digital and social media marketing, computer networking, and software testing. Also keen about the financial, stock, and crypto market. With knowledge of technical analysis, value investing, and keep improving myself in all finance market spaces. Pioneer of the following platforms were I research and write on relevant topics. 1. https://publicopinion.org.ng 2. https://getdeals.com.ng 3. https://tradea.com.ng 4. https://9jaoncloud.com.ng Simeon Bala is an excellent problem solver with strong communication and interpersonal skills.