Creating A Budget & Budgeting Tips

Just about everyone has to budget these days. Some people have a hard time figuring about a budget for them. I am a budgeter, with being an at home mom I have to be. It is so hard living from paycheck to paycheck, but 85% of Americans don't have a choice but to live this way. But it doesnt have to be. Here is a tool that I often use:


http://financialplan.about.com/cs/budgeting/l/blbudget.htm

this is a budgeting work sheet similar to the one I use to get our budget on track. Of course I have tweaked mine a bit to make it work for us, which you can do the same for you.

Now we get bi-weekly paychecks and here are two options of different things you can try to see if they work for you, now of course not everyone has these bills, but you get the idea of how to split up costs:

paying with the 1st pay of month:

mortgage/rent
electric/utility bill
credit cards
garbage

paying with the 2nd pay of the month:

credit cards
car payment
food & necessities
cable/phone/internet

Sometimes we have those added bills in too like insurances for vehicles, and inspections, birthdays, childrens activities, ect, so each pay we try to keep a little in the account to help with those when we come.

Now sometimes the method above doesnt work for everyone, some people may have to do something similar to this:

1st pay:

1/2 mortgage/rent
1/2 car payment (or a loan if you do not have a car payment)
odd and end other bills utilities, credit cards, ect

2nd pay:

1/2 mortgage/rent
1/2 car payment (or loan if you do not have a car payment)
other bills utilities, credit cards, ect

Now this method depending on your payment schedule can really help you out. If you do online banking, and send in 1/2 payments every two weeks you will save interest on a little of it each month, which will allow you to pay off whatever sooner. This is the method I try to use most, saving money where ever I can but it is sometimes hard to get started, but if you get money back on income tax in the spring it is a good time to start this because you can make sure you pay one big payment on time then start paying each pay after that so that you do not miss any payments or do not become short on a payment.

Another budgeting tip: if you have credit cards and you have been paying on time and have done really well with them, call them up and ask them to reduce your interest rate, I have done this with some of ours and most of the time they will accommodate to keep you as a consumer. However this does not always work for store credit cards, this works mainly on ones like VISA, MASTERCARD, OR DISCOVER. Let them know your situation, let them know you have been a good customer of their card, and they should be willing to help.

Hope these few tips help in some way. I am sure I will have more soon!

Until Next Time:
Mom of Many