It is time to make some adjustments to your budget. A new
year is a great time to re-evaluate, and make sure everything is still in line
with reality. Have any of your line items gone up or down (a rise in food and
gas prices are areas people frequently forget to adjust over time). Instead of
giving up on your budget when the numbers don't work out, just make a few
adjustments. Your budget should actually be changing pretty regularly when
expenses are added or taken away every now and then.
If some items have gotten more expensive and you're having
trouble staying within your budget, it could be time to try Dave Ramsey's
envelope system.
Whichever budgeting system you use, just be sure it's one
that works best for you.
If you still haven't jumped on the budgeting bandwagon, a
new year is a great time to try! Read on for a few helpful tips to getting
started.
Step One: Track Spending
Before you begin, you'll need to have an idea of how much you spend. Start
tracking ALL of your spending. It can be as simple a sheet of paper or as
involved as budgeting software for your computer. The purpose is simply to look
and acknowledge where your money usually goes.
It's often easy to forget expenditures such as money for car
maintenance or doctor co-pays...having a good worksheet will help remind you of
those little (or not so little!) things. Once you determine your monthly
expenses, you can see how it matches up with your monthly take home income. The
hard part is deciding where you may need to make some adjustments (adios,
cable!), and when you'll have extra wiggle room. The Federal Trade Commission
offers a great
starter worksheet that will get your mental budgeting juices flowing.
Step Two: Make Your Plan
Once you've chosen a method for tracking your spending, it's
time to plan next month's income and expenditures. That's all a budget really
is, a plan for where your money will go.
Not sure where to start? Consider the most basic of all
budgeting concepts, the 50/30/20 rule, as a guideline.
Having a general rule of thumb is a great jumping off point.
Whether you're a millionaire with money to blow or a college student surviving
on noodles - the 50/30/20 principle should be part of your vocabulary. It's a
tried and true concept that's easy to remember. Here's how it works.
Your goal is to keep your "essentials" at around
50% of your take home pay. For example, if your monthly income is $3000 and
your combined house and car payment is $2500 - you've got some cutting back to
do. The 30% category is classified as your "wants." This category is,
of course, more fluid but is most often where people find themselves in hot
water. And finally, the last category is the 20% "savings" category.
This can be socking money away for college or paying off credit card debt or
even a rainy day fund. It can be tempting to skip this last category but you'll
be glad you did it when the furnace breaks in January!