Many of you are making New Year resolutions, and what better way to start the year than with a sensible budget the 2008?
If you are serious about getting out of debt, it is important to create a budget. This will be a guide of how much that person can spend on all areas of their life, such as housing, food, health care, entertainment, etc.
The first step is to write down the monthly income. Next, write down the monthly expenses. This is where people tend to get overwhelmed and start panicking. Not only do the credit cards have to be paid, but the electricity, cable, phone, internet, school activities, car insurance, car payments, field trips and more, have to be paid as well.
If a person is paid twice a month, write down these dates and write underneath it which bill needs to be paid with that check. It is important to plan ahead. If a payment is due at the end of the month, be sure to pay it with the middle of the month check. Do not try to stretch it out and wait. The goal is to pay the bills and be on time.
If there’s a deficit, meaning there’s not enough money to cover all the bills, then think about ways certain items could be cut. In other words, what bills could be reduced to help pay for others that are due?
To help keep them on track, some people find it helpful to carry a small notebook with them to write down their purchases, whether they are made with cash, check or credit card. Tracking expenses, even cups of coffee, can help people see where their money is going and make it easier to identify which things can be done without in order to pay off debt and save for the future.
As you work with your budget, you might be surprised at how much extra money you are able to put towards your bills. Do not get discouraged if you run into a few kinks along the way. It is okay to sit down and reconfigure your budget to make it fit your needs. After all, the point of creating a budget is to find a way to pare down expenses in a way that you can live with.
