Tips on Budgeting – Budget in less than 5 minutes per week
Tips on Budgeting – Budget in less than 5 minutes per week
Do you like budgeting? Neither do I. In fact I have not met one person that likes budgeting. However, the fact remains that budgeting is a big part of how to manage money and create overall financial success. There are many reasons why budgets don’t work for most people, I know for me I want to spend as little times as possible doing it. Here is how I can budget in less than 5 min per week in 4 simple steps because I follow tips on budgeting.
Step 1: Gather all your data. The key to budgeting quickly is to first get all your numbers in order. Gather 3 months worth of your statements and put them into the main categories: Income, housing expenses, transportation expenses, debt repayment, living expenses, saving and other.
Step 2: Use a budget spreadsheet program. You can pay for one or you can search Google for many different free ones. I created a free spreadsheet program that you can get by clicking on the link below. The goal is to find out where your cash goes. A budget spreadsheet program will help by organizing your data as well as keeping track of your totals.
Step 3: Develop an entertainment budget. I spend 5% of my net income. I call this my entertainment/fun money. This isn’t one of the tips on budgeting I usually recommend but I set this money aside every week and I must spend it before the next Thursday. This is my reward for sticking to my budget. This is how to manage money.
Step 4: Take your money. This is my favourite step. Go to the bank and take out your 5% net income cash. This is how my budgeting takes only 5 min per week. If you get all your numbers in the spreadsheet program, and your budget balances, then all you need to worry about is this step. This is what I do.
You can see that budgeting can be actually quite easy. Once you get all your numbers in and balanced, then it is just a matter of allocating a certain amount of cash for fun. If you do not change any major bills then you know your budget will always be balanced. Take 5 min, review the numbers, follow tips on budgeting and take out your fun money. How to manage money can be quite easy, if you want it to be.
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Good tips, I like your advice on alloting 5% as your entertainment/fun money. I believe that by giving yourself a budget to spend on leisure this will give you more control on impulsive buying.
Thanks for the comment. Impulse buying is one of the most dangerous aspects of spending. Most of us are guilty of it too. Cheers
You have made a lot of good points. I have always budgeted part of my income to “entertainment” because I know I have to give myself a “pat on the back” for working so hard and whatever I spend on with this money is my reward.
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Thanks for sharing about budgeting. For me this is the hardest thing I can do when it comes to money because it always hurts to see that there is nothing left for me after separating the payment for bills.
Where is the spreadsheet you are talking about?
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Budgeting is very important if you plan on having any type of financial success in your life. I can tell you by not having a budget will lead to spending money recklessly and not planning for the unforseen rainy day. I also liked the part about the 5% me money!
I completely agree that budgeting is extremely important. I’m a Certified Public Accountant, so I know the value of a solid budget. My wife (also a CPA) and I put together a monthly budget, and we try to stick to it as closely as possible.
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I agree with the other commenters. The importance of step 3 should never be underestimated. Many people feel frustrated because they can’t seem to manage to stick to their budget plan, only because they didn’t factor in that fun trip or night out.
.-= Norah @ Femita´s last blog ..Personal Budget Management For Dummies =-.