Loanio

Budget Budget Budget

Personal budget planning is an important part of keeping a handle on your finances. Because there is so much turmoil in today’s economy, maintaining a healthy personal budget is more vital than ever. Crafting a personal budget begins with determining how money comes in, and how money goes out, but there is a lot more detail that has to go into the personal budget planning process if you want to get the most out of it.

When you consider your income, for example, you should have both a monthly budget amount and a monthly actual amount so you can make sure that you are earning the income that you are expecting. Your income should include not only standard wages and bonuses, but also income from interest, income from investments and income from miscellaneous sources. Budget for all “money in” scenarios, including tax refunds for example.

Because taxes are an important part of your finances, you should also track your income taxes and other taxes in your personal budget planning process. Track your federal income taxes, state income taxes, local income taxes, Medicare taxes and social security taxes by tracking both a budgeted amount and an actual amount each month. These numbers fluctuate, so make sure to track them.

Next, when it comes to tracking your expenses for personal budget planning, there are a lot of categories that you need to consider. You need to consider your mortgage payment or rent, homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, property taxes, home repairs, HOA dues, maintenance costs and home improvements, for example. Utilities that need to be considered include electricity, water and sewer, natural gas or oil, cell phone and land line telephone. Food costs should not only include grocery bills, but also snacks, lunches, eating out, and whatever you spend at the vending machine.

There are also family obligations to budget for that may normally be forgotten, such s child support, daycare, baby sitting and alimony payments. If you have to contribute to your health insurance, don’t forget about monthly health, vision and dental premiums. You also need to consider un-reimbursed medical expenses like co-pays.

There are other expenses to include in your budget planning, including transportation costs like car payments, gasoline, auto maintenance and repair fees, oil, auto insurance and other methods of transportation like bus and taxi costs. If you have debt like loans, student loans or credit cards, or you have debt payments, then you need to include these as well.

If you intend on saving a specific amount of money every month, it would be wise to treat it like a bill, making it a mandatory expense every month rather than something that you remember to do at the end of the month when you’re low on cash. Don’t forget occasional expenses in your budget, like entertainment and recreation costs, subscriptions, vacations, pets, clothing and other investments. If you leave something out of your budget during the personal budget planning process you may end up with no money to cover it at the end of the month.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-11-28 05:01:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Loanio Roundup - Dia de Los Muertos [/caption] Good morning and welcome to the Dia de Los Muertos edition of Loanio's roundup. Dia de Los Muertos is a holiday celebration that takes place primarily in Mexico and celebrates the dead. It goes by Day of the Dead in English and correspondingly it matches the Catholic holidays of......
• Breaking Down Budgeting A personal budget is simply a spending plan. Before you work on personal budget planning you need to have a good idea of where and how your money is being spent. It can be a tedious process, but it can also be a true eye opener if you are not......
• What Are the Best Small Investments? /caption] In times of uncertain economic future, it is important to look at your investment strategy and tweak it as needed. One of the ways that you can improve your portfolio is to take on small investments with lower risks associated with them. Taking in smaller rewards and returns may......
• Defining Your Budget and Crafting Your Financial Future 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......
• 8 Tips for College Student Budgets [/caption] 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......

• It's Time for Some Personal Budget Planning Tips Personal budget planning is an important part of keeping a handle on your finances. Because there is so much turmoil in today's economy, maintaining a healthy personal budget is more vital than ever. Crafting a personal budget begins with determining how money comes in, and how money goes out, but......
• Five Good Uses for Your Tax Refund If you’ve already completed your tax return for 2007, you may find yourself among those lucky folks who will receive an income tax refund. Tax returns can vary from small amounts to fairly hefty sums. In fact, some people receive returns that are as much as several thousand dollars. If......
• How To Hedge Your Bets: 10 Ways To Diversify Your Income Jonathan Leane is today's guest blogger here at Rich Credit Debt Loan. Jonathan writes for Debt Loans. Why Diversify Your Income? Most people are familiar with the idea of diversification—it is common knowledge to not “put all your eggs in one basket”. However, this advice is most commonly applied to......
• 10 ways to stop worrying so much about money With a recession underway and a constant bombardment of bad news, everyone is worried about one thing:  money. You don't need money to be happy, but having money and watching it disappear doesn't help your mood one bit. I am a worrier. I have found that there are a......
• How to Build a Zero-based Budget A zero based budget is a budget where every dollar you earn is assigned to a category in your budget. Your income minus your expenses equals zero – zero based budget. The idea sounds very simple, and it is, but the real value in creating and following a zero-based budget......