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Creating (and sticking to) a family budgetBY: Guest | Category: Finance | Post Date: 2010-01-26
"Where does all the money go?!" It's amazing how often this phrase is used when it comes to bill-paying time. Every month, we receive the same bills, and every month we are surprised by the outflow of cash. In many cases, the debt payments are difficult enough to keep up with, not to mention new expenses each month. But with a little forethought and planning, you will be able to keep your family financially sound and stress free. The first step of any budget is to think about your lifestyle and goals. How would you ideally like to live? Do you want to pay for your kids' college education? Would you like to buy (or pay off) a home? Do you want to give to charity? How often do you want to eat out or go to movies or plays? Brainstorm a list of these goals. Next, think about the opposite end. If you had to, what would you be willing to do to survive? Move in with family? Sell your baseball card collection? Work three jobs? Write out this list - and make sure that your spouse does this with you. Now that we have a sense of the range of lifestyles that you are willing to live with, let's get down to the details. Most budgets are made up of the following categories: Housing, giving, savings & investments, food & sundries, transportation, insurance, clothing, health, entertainment, debt, and communication . Your categories may vary depending on what you value and what you include in each area. Here are some tips for each of these categories. Housing - This is a category that isn't likely to be very flexible. This includes your mortgage or rent, HOA dues, maintenance or upkeep, and improvements. Giving - This is your charitable contributions as well as event-based gifts such as weddings, birthdays, and graduations. Keep an eye out for bargains, garage sales, and freebies that you can use as gifts. Savings & Investments - Even if you are unsure that you are going to be able to have any money left over, put a goal in this section so that you are aware of what you would like to be saving. Food & Sundries - Clip coupons! Also browse useful web sites like grocerygame.com for ways to find out what stores have the best deals on what your family needs. Always have a shopping list when you go out, otherwise you'll impulse buy and ruin your budget. Transportation - Whether you own or lease a car, or use public transportation, record all payments, gas expense, registration, parking fees, and maintenance. If you have the choice, do the math on public transportation and see if it would be less expensive than driving on your own. Carpooling is also a great choice if you split the gas cost. Insurance - This includes health, life, dental, property, house, and any other insurance you may carry. Shop around to see which provider has the best option, and see if they will give you discounted rates for using the same company for more than one type of insurance. Clothing - This is a section that can either be really hard or really easy to cut down. If you like to keep up on all the latest fashion trends, try off-brands or thrift stores. Identify the clothing you really need (gym, interview, work, party, everyday), and try to double-up wherever possible. Health - This category is for unexpected health expenses like copays and medicine, or anticipated expenses such as your regular doctor's appointments. In general, this isn't a category that is easily reduced. Entertainment - This category is essentially a catch-all for anything you like to do that doesn't fit into the other categories. Movies, iPhone applications, coffee, eating out, and hobbies all fall into this section. Virtually all of these expenses are easily scaled back or found cheaper. In reality, you could cut out this entire section, but it's not recommended. It's better to moderate your entertainment expenses than to cut them out entirely. Debt - Similar to the savings category, payment any debt that you have should be worked into your budget regardless of whether or not you think you can pay it back right now. Communication - This is a relatively new category that includes things such internet service, cell and data plans. While in the strictest sense these should be considered -entertainment,- in our culture this is often not practical. Libraries usually offer free internet service and you can still get land lines for your telephone, but the reality of work and personal life shifts this section out of the entertainment section and into a category of its own. Make sure to review your budget on a regular basis (every other month is usually good). This way, you can ensure that you are not only sticking to the allotted amounts, but that the budget is still reasonable given your lifestyle. Article Source: http://www.writearticles.org About Author / Additional Info: Additional Articles: * Technology and Life * Refine the concept of 'Fat' & 'Thin' in era of fashion consciousness * Men- They're Just like Us.. (Women) * Environmental Management Systems and Environmental Management Tools * DATING TIP: How To Flirt And Why Does this article violate or infringe on your copyright ? It is a violation of our terms for authors to submit content which they did not write and claim it as their own. If this article infringes on your copyrights, then use our Contact us form with the detailed proof of infringement along with the offending article's title, URL and writer name. If you do not hear back from us then contact us again in another 10 days. Thank you. 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