Each day we get thousands of visitors looking to
build a household budget.
Some are relatively comfortable with there spending habits, some are
not.
Many are just asking the question, "Where does all of my money go."
Below we've put together a list of simple tips that will help you and
your
family manage a better budget.
Helpful tips on
building a household budget (and sticking to it!)
1. Be realistic. Sure, we could all save a bundle
if we didn't have to eat or entertain ourselves. You can cut your
grocery bill by up to 15% or so, but a 25% or more reduction in
spending is just unrealistic. Plan on spending some money on
entertainment, everybody needs some reward.
2. You're budgeting your money to save money. You're
doing this for a reason- make it count. Try to save at least 5%
of your income each month.
3. Track your actual spending. Don't fall into the
trap of setting up a detailed budget and then forget
to track against it. Track your spending daily, weekly, fortnightly,
monthly,
hourly, whatever- just make sure you're tracking what you actually
spend!
4. Make a list of free things to do each month. A
concert in the park, hiking on the weekend, volunteer time at a soup
kitchen. Be creative.
5. Correcting bad spending habits. You've invested
your hard earned money into a budget spreadsheet or budget software,
now make it pay off. How do you correct bad spending habits? Discipline
and learning from your past mistakes.
6. Plan for the unexpected. Make sure you put aside
some emergency funds for unexpected events (medical
bills, automobile repair, loss of employment, etc.)
7. Don't panic. If you spend more than you make in
a given month, treat it as a lesson
learned, not the end of the world.
8. Reward yourself. Try to reward yourself at the
end of each month for a job well done.
This will help you stick to your goals in the future.
9. Stick with simple budgeting tools. Don't get
lost with the latest and greatest budget software that has the
most bells and whistles. The more robust the budget program, the more
confusing.
Keep it simple.
10. Don't let your budget rule your life. The world
is stressful enough today, it doesn't need any help from you. Stick to
your budget as best you can, learn from your mistakes and try to
improve every month.
