Archive for the ‘Personal Budget Planning’ Category
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
Create a budget.
Personal budget planning is absolutely crucial if you want to build personal wealth and overcome things like the credit crunch and the current problems that the economy is experiencing. The word “Budget” is one that worries a lot of people because it often seems more like a hassle and a chore than anything else, but there are a lot of easy things that you can do in order to create a personal budget planning process that is beneficial to you and your entire family and household. Here are a set of basic steps that will help you build a personal budget that is going to work well for you and your household as a whole
- Begin the personal budget planning process by collecting at least three months worth of bills, expense statements and receipts.
Look at your bank statements, cash transactions and any receipts that you have saved. Look through your credit card statements as well. What did you purchase? What bills did you pay? Were there any fees that you paid? Are there any habits in your monthly bank statements that are worth noting? Are you spending basically the same amount of money every month? Are there expenses that are the same or similar every month? Answering these questions will give you a good foundation for your personal budget planning.
- Now that you have a firm handle on your expenses, the next step is to gather documents relating to your income.
If you are on salary, put together your paychecks and make sure that you are getting the same amount every month. Otherwise you should gather between three and six months of income statements to get an average amount that you earn in a single month.
- Now that you have a good idea of both your expenses and your incomes, the next thing to do is to compare them to see how much money is left.
This may seem like a frightening step, but it is important if you want to know how much discretionary income you have every single month.
- Now that you know how much money exists at the end of the month on average, you can start looking at what expenses can be eliminated or reduced.
Review your expenses carefully to find out how you can leverage additional income on a monthly basis, because this extra money can be used to reduce debts and begin to save money for the future.
Now that your basic budget is outlined, you can begin to work on prioritizing your debts by reviewing interest rates and listing your debts beginning with the highest interest rate and working down. Once your budget and discretionary income have been outlined you can begin to plan for your financial future by outlining both short term and long term goals in your personal financial life. The last step is simply to exercise patience and to stay the course for as long as you can. Personal budget planning is not going to become a habit as quickly as over night, but it will eventually become a habit if you practice it regularly.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2008-11-13 05:58:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Tags: amount of money, bank statements, cash transactions, credit card statements, credit crunch, discretionary income, economy, expense statements, good foundation, hassle, household, income statements, incomes, least three months, paychecks, personal budget, personal wealth, receipts, salary, six months
Posted in Personal Budget Planning, Personal Finance, Smart Money Ideas | No Comments »
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
#4 Pace Yourself
Below are eight tips for college students about money and finances.
1. Track your Expenses
If you track your spending for a few weeks, you will be better able to figure out where your money is going. Are you spending an exorbitant amount of money on Starbucks? You may want to cut back. Most college students do not realize where their money is going until they really take the time to pay attention to their receipts at the end of the week.
2. Formulate a Plan
The best way to manage your finances over the course of a semester is simply to sit down and really take the time to map out a budget. List all of your sources of income, tracking potential income and actual income earned. Then list all of your expenses, including tuition, books, groceries, and so on. When you have a plan formulated, you can better track money coming in and going out.
3. Make Room for Good Time Money
You need to make plans to have a little bit of personal spending money for entertainment purposes, eating out or other special purchases, otherwise you can easily throw your entire budget plan out of whack. Make some room for entertainment money and just vow to stay within your budget from month to month.
4. Pace Yourself
If you spend too much money at the beginning of the semester you will run out of money before the end. Give yourself a weekly spending limit based on how much income you have, and stick to it so you don’t end up tapped out by the end of the semester.
5. Go Easy on Credit
Credit cards are nice, and useful, but only for some purchases and not all. One quick way to spend way beyond your means is to use credit in the wrong ways. Use your credit cards sparingly if you have them, otherwise you may end up hooked on charging things, which is a great way to rack up unavoidable, unnecessary debt.
6. Set a Personal Credit Line
Just because your credit card has a limit of $2,000, that does not mean you have to spend that much. Only spend what you can actually pay back. If you only have $500 to attribute to paying back a credit card, only spend that much on the card and you will be fine.
7. Be Realistic
You can do what you want to do, but you cannot necessarily do everything that you want to do. Make some choices and be prepared to make some sacrifices because doing things and buying things is going to make a dent in your wallet, but some expenses can be easier on the wallet than others and provide just as much return on investment.
8. Plan Ahead for Emergencies
If you bust your entire budget this week on something you want to do, make sure to make up for it next week. If you constantly spend your entire budget frivolously, you can end up unprepared for emergencies like auto maintenance costs, course materials, health costs and so on.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2008-11-06 05:11:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Tags: amount of money, budget plan, college students, credit card, credit credit cards, entertainment purposes, good time, groceries, little bit, much money, pace, personal credit line, receipts, spending money, starbucks, time money, vow
Posted in College Student Finances, Credit, Emergency Fund, Managing Money Wisely, Money, Personal Budget Planning, Personal Finance, Smart Money Ideas | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Managing your money wisely in 4 steps.
One of the hardest things for many people to accomplish is managing money wisely. We may all know the basics, and understand that spending too much is a good way to get on the road to financial ruin. However, when push comes to shove, we end up making mistakes that may take years to undo. If you’re serious about managing money wisely, there are a few tips that you can implement today that will help you reduce the mistakes you make and help you take better advantage of your successes.
1. Always weigh the consequences.
Impulse buying that cannot be controlled is a sure recipe for disaster. If you are trying to start managing money wisely, the first step to take is to make sure that you weigh the consequences before making any purchase, big or small. When you start to consider the consequences of a frivolous purchase, resisting the urge to buy it will be a lot easier. For example, let’s say that you have had your eye on an LCD television that costs $6000. Once you spend that money, it’s gone, since your television will never earn any more for you. What could you do if you invested that $6000 instead?
2. Set yourself up for success.
Many people fail at managing money wisely simply because they make it too hard to succeed. Whether it is a strict budget that can’t possibly be kept, or constant spending that can’t be controlled, if you are not setting yourself up for success, you may have a hard time getting there, especially at first. Try setting a budget that you can easily keep. Once you have this down and you’ve gotten into a routine you can start saving more money. By making changes gradually, you can ease into managing your money more effectively and it will be easier to get there.
3. Set goals.
Setting financial goals is a vital component of managing money wisely. When you are working towards something, sticking to a budget or waiting to make a big purchase are a lot easier. Try to set financial goals for this year, five years and then further into the future. Create milestones along the way of what you would like to achieve and then keep these goals in a prominent place. They will help you stay focused and motivated to keep managing money wisely.
4. Pick yourself back up if you fall.
We’re not perfect and even the best of us do make money mistakes from time to time. The key is getting right back up and trying again. Anyone can keep a budget, and anyone can learn to create more opportunities for income. The key is staying motivated, and avoiding having discouragement keep you from managing money wisely.
These are four easy steps that you can start using right now in order to start managing money wisely. Don’t wait to formulate a plan for your financial future. The best time to start preparing for tomorrow is today.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2008-11-03 15:40:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Tags: consequences, disaster, financial goals, financial ruin, futu, hard time, impulse buying, lcd television, managing money, managing your money, resisting the urge, set goals, setting a budget, sticking to a budget, strict budget, successes, vital component
Posted in Managing Money Wisely, Money, Overspending, Personal Budget Planning, Personal Finance | No Comments »
Saturday, February 6th, 2010
Overspending is an enormous problem for Americans right now and the sad truth is, many of us do not even know we are doing it. If you are finding it hard to make ends meet at the end of the month, or you are desperately waiting for that next paycheck to arrive, you may need to take a hard look at your financial situation, your budget and how much you spend every month.
Track how much money you spend on small things.
We typically consider our rent or mortgage payments, car loans and utilities as the only items that need to be budgeted, but there are many small items that can crop up and eat away at your bank balance. These are typically unnecessary expenses, and over time, enough of them can quickly add up. Let’s take a look at how to determine how much you spend and how you can get your expenditures in line with what you make.
It’s a great idea to keep a little log book and write down everything you buy for the period of one month. Everything, no matter how small, should be noted down in your log. At the end of the month, total everything up and see just how much money you have going out the door. This is probably the easiest way to figure out what needs to be cut, since you’ll have everything right in front of you. Here are some of the most common culprits.
1. Eating Out.
Americans spend thousands, if not tens of thousands, eating out and these expenses can quickly add up. You can save quite a lot of money simply by cutting out one meal out a week, and even more if you really get serious about cutting back. Once you’ve logged how much you spend on food, you may be surprised at how much of your paycheck is missing.
2. Recurring Subscriptions.
This is a problem for many online. You sign up for something, forget to ask for a refund before the trial is over, and before you know it, you’ve got several “memberships” or recurring fees that you don’t even know about, all being taken right out of your account every month. These will add up fast, and can do a lot of damage if they are not caught in time.
3. Superfluous Items.
Even though these items are typically small, they take up a big chunk of your budget. All too often we don’t think about the little, “it’s only a dollar,” items that we see at the store. While each one may be inexpensive, when you add them all up, it can be shocking to see just how much you are spending. The log book of your monthly expenses really comes in handy to see which of these items can be cut from your budget.
By taking the time to see how much money you actually do spend, you can stop overspending before it gets out of control and starts to eat away at your paycheck.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2008-10-10 05:16:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Tags: bank balance, budget, car loans, enormous problem, expenditures, financial situation, how much money, mortgage payments, overspending, paycheck, sad truth, subscriptions, tens of thousands, unnecessary expenses
Posted in Money Saving Tips, Paycheck to Paycheck, Personal Budget Planning, Personal Finance | No Comments »
Friday, February 5th, 2010
Money managers for many are necessary.
If your idea of organizing your finances is throwing a receipt in a big pile, you may want to consider the benefits of hiring a money manager. There is a new trend in the financial world where daily money managers are becoming very popular, and for many consumers, they are very necessary. Let’s take a look at what a daily money manager does and how they may be able to benefit your personal finances.
1. Organize paperwork and receipts.
When it comes to getting your paperwork in order, or keeping a record of all of your receipts, most of us end up failing miserably. Trying to track down little slips of paper is maddening at best, and for those of us with little time on our hands, the task of getting our paperwork organized is simply too much. We put it off and before long you end up with a slew of jumbled papers and you can’t find the one receipt you really need. A daily money manager will catalog all of your paperwork, filing it away and help you keep track of expenditures by organizing your receipts.
2. Paying bills on time.
If your schedule is hectic, or you simply aren’t good about dates, paying your bills on time can be a struggle. A daily money manager can be used to help you make sure that all of your deadlines are met, and that nothing is left unpaid by the end of the month. Once again, for those with a busy lifestyle or an inability to keep everything running smoothly, a daily money manager can be a true financial lifesaver.
3. Mediation.
A daily money manager does not replace an accountant or a lawyer, but they can assist in mediating between their clients and these professionals. For example, if you have filed a claim with an insurance agency, a money manager can assist you in handling the communication with the agency and getting all of your necessary documents together. The vast majority of daily money managers are trained and have backgrounds that include legal, financial, and insurance expertise.
4. Day to Day Basics.
For many of us, the devil is in the daily basics of keeping our finances ordered. Instead of letting things get out of hand for months at a time, a daily money manager can offer assistance in keeping checkbooks balanced, paperwork accounted for and everything you need to have handled in your personal finance life done.
As we get busier as a society, it is clear that there is a definite need for daily money managers. If you do decide to hire a daily money manager to help manage your finances, there are a few things to consider ahead of time. First, you will need to make sure that they are accredited and licensed. This professional will have access to your documents and it is vital to ensure that you can trust them. Look for a major national firm or someone in your local community that you can rely on.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2008-10-09 05:14:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Tags: accountant, consumers, expenditures, insurance agency, lawyer, lifesaver, mediation, money manager, money managers, necessary documents, new trend, organizing your finances, paperwork, personal finances, receipt, receipts, slips of paper, time on our hands
Posted in Managing Money Wisely, Money, Personal Budget Planning, Personal Finance, Smart Money Ideas | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
A budget or spending plan is a specific money management tool that is designed to put you in control of your spending, keeping you out of credit trouble and other financial trouble. Your budget is vital because it is your personal plan for spending the income that you have, making good use of your credit and otherwise managing your finances in an efficient and effective way. Many people incorrectly treat budgeting like dieting, where you’re forced to suffer in order to achieve your goals, but this simply is not the case. A budget, on the other hand, is like the speedometer on your car in that it is letting you know how fast or how slowly you are going so that you can adjust accordingly. Your budget lets you know how you are doing in terms of earning and spending, so that you can make the necessary adjustments.
What are your budgeting goals?
Most people are spending out of control without realizing it, which is why a budget is so important.
Here is a short list of some of the things that a budget can do for you:
- A personal budget can help you reach your financial goals, serving as a compass that keeps you on course and helps you put money aside so that you may reach your goals.
- A personal budget can help you control your money by allocating money for all of the different facets of your daily life, allowing you to better keep track of how your money is being used.
- A personal budget can help you to live within your means by showing you how your expenses compare to your incomes so that you can adjust things accordingly.
- A personal budget can help you to free up cash. One of the biggest bonuses that comes with budgeting is that you can decide how much you intend to spend, rather than spending all of your money on things you do not want or need, a budget will grant you the power to make smarter and better informed decisions regarding how you spend your money.
- A personal budget allows you to free up cash because an effective budgeting practice will involve your entire family and will help you come up with ways to free up money and better spend the money that you have.
- A personal budget can help you prepare for the unexpected, because you can put aside money every month for emergency expenses as part of your budget, and this will help you cover a variety of expenses including emergency auto repairs, medical bills and other expenses that come up unexpectedly.
- A personal budget can help you get out of debt, and even more importantly, stay out of debt once you are there. Budgeting will bring your expenses in line with your income, so you will stop adding to your debt.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2009-01-15 05:33:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Tags: compass, credit trouble, facets, financial goals, financial trouble, incomes, informed decisions, management tool, managing your finances, money management, necessary adjustments, personal budget, personal plan, speedometer
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Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
Add budgeting to your personal finance repertoire.
The key to your financial success in life is your own personal money management skills. Your personal money management practices make up your own personal method of reaching both your goals and your dreams. No one likes the idea of personal budget planning, but you will never know if you are getting the most out of your money if you do not implement some techniques for personal budget planning into your life. Everyone wants to keep up on their bills, pay off loans and credit cards, and stay ahead of debt. Successful asset and debt management is an excellent source of pride as well as good credit.
Whether we use credit or not, all of us want to have a good credit score and credit report. So unless you have an unlimited amount of money that you can simply spend in any way that you wish, you are going to need to formulate some semblance of a personal budget in order to get your bills paid and in order to manage your assets as well. Personal budget planning can seem difficult, but should not be an overwhelming process by any means.
Creating a household budget begins by figuring out what all of your monthly and yearly bills are. Then you are going to want to add in any retirement funding, savings goals and spending money so that you have a clear cut picture of how much you need to spend, because what doesn’t matter is how much money you make – what does matter is how you spend the money that you make. By implementing personal budget planning techniques into your daily life, you can get a feel for how what you make relates to what you spend, and how cutting down expenditures in certain areas of your life can actually help you save a significant amount of money.
When you fail to follow personal budget planning, your debt may overcome your income, meaning that you would be unable to make payments on time. If you make payments late or make no payments at all, you will put yourself in serious mounting debt with no way out. You cannot simply spend money as you wish and hope that there is enough left over at the end of the month with which to tackle the bills. You absolutely must implement techniques for personal budget planning if you want to manage your finances right.
Personal budget planning is actually quite easy when you consider how many resources are out there for it. Most people use budgeting software on their computers to prepare a household budget. If you do not have any fancy software, another opportunity is simply to use excel to track money in and money out. When you have a clear cut picture of where your money is going, that is when you can truly begin to implement smart money saving strategies to get your finances on track.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2009-01-05 05:52:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Tags: amount of money, assets, creating a household budget, Credit Cards, credit report, credit score, debt management, expenditures, financial success, management practices, money management skills, personal budget, personal method, personal money management, planning techniques, pride, retirement, savings goals, semblance, spending money
Posted in Managing Money Wisely, Money, Personal Budget Planning, Personal Finance | No Comments »
Sunday, December 27th, 2009
Remember to budget for travel, holidays, birthdays, and more as you find necessary.
When it comes to budgeting examples, one of the best things that you can do is to look at a successful budget and draw from it to establish your own. Everyone has a different idea of what makes a good working budget, and your budgeting examples need to be unique to your needs and wants if you want to get the most out of them. Here are some tips for creating working budgeting examples that will allow you to manage your money more wisely than before.
1 – Keep yourself busy after work in order to keep from overspending.
If you prevent yourself from overspending, then staying within your budget, so make sure to practice this. Find something else to do, like getting a fun second job, going back to school, volunteering, or getting into shape. The more you find to do, the less you will end up spending in the long run.
2 – Watch out for miscellaneous categories.
Make sure that you use well defined categories in your budget to capture how you are actually spending your money. If you put too much money into a miscellaneous category, it will make it significantly harder for you to track what you are spending, and it will make it significantly harder to control your spending in the process.
3 – Determine the difference between wanting and needing.
If you did not know that you needed it, you probably still do not need it. Do not buy things because they are on sale, or because you may eventually need them. If you didn’t want them or need them before they showed up on sale, then do you really need them?
4 – Budget for special occasions when forecasting your expenses.
Include gift giving occasions, eating out occasions, birthdays, anniversaries, traveling, and holidays among others. If you plan on spending money on any of these occasions, then you need to remember to include them in your budget for the best results.
5 – Do not use forms of debt to eliminate other forms of debt.
Taking out a consolidation loan may seem like a good idea, but doing this to pay off other debt is ludicrous. Why create new debt to eliminate old debt? Try consulting free debt counselor groups rather than paying in the long run with a pricey debt consolidation loan.
6 – Budget your time as well as your money.
Time is money; we have all heard this phrase. Well spent time can be just as big an investment as investing money. Take a few moments every day to figure out how you can save on bills by researching lower rates or cutting out unnecessary services. This is time spent that is well worth it.
7 – Keep track of your expenses daily to keep better control over your money.
Call your bank’s automated teller or check your online statement and get your banking settled before you go to bed. It only takes about ten minutes but it works wonders for your budget and making sure you have the money that you think you do.
Photo Credit: 1
Originally posted 2008-12-29 05:58:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Tags: birthdays anniversaries, budget, christmas, consolidation loan, getting into shape, going back to school, much money, overspending, second job, special occasions, spending money
Posted in Loanio, Money, Overspending, Personal Budget Planning, Personal Finance | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Avoiding budgeting?
One of the things that can make your life easier, even though it sounds complicated, is personal budget planning. If you’re one of the fortunate few who never has to worry about running out of money no matter how many extra expenses might crop up or how much extra you might spend on Christmas or leisure activities, then maybe a budget isn’t that important. But for the rest of us, a budget can make the difference between having to scrape by on that last $20 or putting an extra $20 into our savings account at the end of the month.
Many people avoid personal budget planning. Some don’t want to face the numbers. They know they’re not earning enough to keep spending at the same rate they have been, so making out a budget will cause them to face some painful truths—they’ll have to earn more money, or spend less money, or both. Other people think it’s just too complicated and will take hours and hours to do properly. Yet others simply don’t know where to begin.
If you think personal budget planning will take hours or weeks and be a confusing process you’ll wish you never started, you’re making it harder than it is. It’s not even necessary to do everything terribly detailed at first, which makes it easier. You can come up with ball-park figures to get started—how much do you spend on your bills vs how much do you earn? Don’t forget other expenditures like eating out, groceries, household goods, gifts and leisure activities like going to the the movies when you estimate how much you spend each month—a look back at your credit card and checking account information makes coming up with figures easier than you thought.
If you’re in the group of people who don’t spend time personal budget planning because you know the picture’s not going to be a pretty one, you’re actually someone who needs a budget more than most! List all of the things you spend money on that aren’t necessary or that you could make compromises with, like taking a brown bag lunch to work instead of spending $8 dollars a day at a restaurant. It can be less painful than you think to make ends meet. If you’re in the other group of people but you don’t know where to start, you can make the same lists and you’ll be started before you know it.
So what’s the best way to make a budget, now that you know how to start?
You could just make a spreadsheet on your computer or even just make a list on paper, but personal budget planning software can help you do more than crunch the numbers, some software allows you to set spending goals and warns you when you’re about to go over budget in an area. You just plug in the numbers and the software does all the analyzing for you, making personal budget planning as easy for you as possible.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2008-12-24 05:48:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Tags: ball park, brown bag lunch, checking account, christmas, compromises, credit card, expenditures, groceries, household goods, leisure activities, Money, painful truths, personal budget
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