How to Make and Keep a Budget

First Things First

The first thing to do is get a piece of paper or program on the computer such as Microsoft Office. You should make categories personal to you that identify where your money will be spent. You shouldn’t put anything in a miscellaneous category. A rent or house payment should be a category. A utilities category should be made with electricity, water, cable, etc. Kids should have their own category. It is a good idea to keep your groceries separate from your restaurant money. There should be two categories for you and your spouse. All of your car expenses should be in a category with all the personal items in a separate category. The categories you made should help you to see where your money is.

Next Thing

Go through and make sure you know what amount is going to go to bills that can't be altered in any way. This is a place you might but things such as phone bills or rent. The amounts should be unchangeable so as to help your budget. This teaches you what money goes where in your budget. Once done with that you should then place amounts into each category that is what you normally spend. You can live a month and carefully record your spending to see what you are spending all of your money on. Each area of money will surprise you in how much you spent.

Last Thing on the List

The Last thing you have to do is make sure the budget balances out with the amount of money you are going to be making. This may be accomplished by subtracting from other funds such as personal funds. At the end of each month there should be some extra money to put into savings. You must stick to the budget. If you decide you want to go to a really expensive restaurant but don't have the money in the budget then you can't go. In the end the saving rather than spending will be worth it.

My experience

When I was in college, I struggled just like everyone else. I felt like there was no hope that I could pay for everything. My tuition, books, rent, electric, and other bills had to be worked out and paid. I thought I wouldn’t have any money left for things like food after paying it all. Each category had as little money as possible to be budgeted out to it so I could afford everything. I decided to start a new program for my money. It worked wonders for us. I was someone able to figure out how to pay the bills with a little amount of money. This program is still beneficial and used often in my family.