Everyone should have a budget. I have had a budget as long as I have been gaining income. For the last year I have kept a budget on paper as well as an overview on a dry erase board that I keep around the house.
Your budget should include your income as well as expenses. My budget includes most of the following:
May 1st May 15th____
Income: Deposited check Deposited check
Self-Pay: Self-pay Self-pay
Tithe: Tithe Tithe
Monthly: Rent Utility 1
Car note Utility 2
Credit card 1
Credit card 2
Weekly: Food Food
Gas Gas
Annual: None None
Leisure: Basketball game Concert
Mall
Budgets allow you to see where your money is going and what you have left after paying everyone. It has saved me from late fees, late payments, and missed payments many times. I don’t spend money until I sit down and do my budget. Your budget may be different from the sample I have above. It all depends on the amount of money you have coming in and the amount going out. Another factor may be if you are paid twice a month or once a month.
Starting this month I will be using my paper method as well as Mint.com.
 |
| http://www.mint.com/ |
Mint.Com obtains all of the information from all of your accounts ( bank, credit, loans,Mortgage) and puts them all in one place so that you can see how you are doing financially. The site also offers really good tips to help when making future decisions. Some may not like that they have access to your accounts but in my opinion it seems legit from the reviews. Mint.com seems to have a lot to offer. I am new to the site and will periodically give updates on how it is working for me.
Everyone has different ways of budgeting their money. How do you budget yours?