How to Set Up a Successful Budget
1 Start with a canned budget worksheet (see link below).
2 Go through your check book or bills for the last two to three months and add and delete categories from the worksheet to fit your expenditures.
3 Think about your hobbies and your habits and be sure to add categories for these expenses.
4 Go through your pay stubs and calculate your average monthly gross pay.
5 Do the same for any interest income, dividends, bonuses, or other miscellaneous income.
Being the spouse of someone that does not believe in budgeting. How can I feel secure financially. I try to budget the little I make, but I know that it takes both of our income to feel secure?
[QUOTE=angle;532]1 Start with a canned budget worksheet (see link below).
2 Go through your check book or bills for the last two to three months and add and delete categories from the worksheet to fit your expenditures.
3 Think about your hobbies and your habits and be sure to add categories for these expenses.
4 Go through your pay stubs and calculate your average monthly gross pay.
5 Do the same for any interest income, dividends, bonuses, or other miscellaneous income.[/QUOTE]
Ya, you are right!These are the main things should be considered, before planning the budget!
You always come out with a nice tip, Angle and thank your for that. I now have a stepping stone about planning my budget in anytime. I'll surely include my hobbies and interest too. Thanks!
i agree you have to pay yourself too out of your pay, not just budget your bills. i like that.
Something important too: Don't think about what you're losing when using money, think about opportunity cost.
As quoted on cnn.com
"Opportunity cost is defined as the cost of pursuing one alternative versus another. "
For example, if you were going to spend $500 on a new bike, the opportunity cost would be that you would not be able to buy anything else with or invest that $500. For the purposes of financial planning, you should look at the cost versus the benefit of each decision you make. In this case, you could spend $500 on the bike or you could invest the same $500 in a savings account. In five years, the bike will be worth $25 and the $500 investment will be worth $650 (including interest).
The opportunity cost of buying a bike is the long-term benefit that you will receive if you did not buy the bike and invested it. Technically, the opportunity cost is not limited to the cost of investing the money, [b]but also includes any other opportunity you could spend the money on (investing, buying something else, saving the money, etc). [/b]By carefully evaluating your alternatives and by weighing the opportunity cost of each decision, you can vastly increase your long-term wealth.
what i usually do, i just bring the right amount of money when i go to office that is good for mu lunch only to avoid buying extra stuff...
What is a canned budget worksheet? There is no link.
Good information provided about budget plan.
