Most people associate the word "budget" with penny-pinching, and the tedious work
of crunching figures. But this couldn't be more untrue. A budget is the bedrock
of a sound financial foundation, and it may help you achieve a more positive financial attitude.
In many ways, creating this budget has the same drawbacks as dieting and living a healthy
lifestyle. Most of us attempt to make good decisions, yet it's simply too easy to make
mistakes. Donuts, late-night nibbles, and anything fried can be very appealing. The desire to have
complete control over our disposable income might be just as dangerous. Unfortunately, this approach
often leaves us broke, overburdened, and full of regrets, which is one of the many reasons why you
need a budget. Making a budget, on the other hand, isn't difficult if you know how to go about it.
So, in this video, we’ll be sharing with you a few things you should know,
so you can finally create and stick to that budget. If all this sounds interesting to you,
and you’re keen on learning more. Do me a quick favour before we jump into it. Subscribe right now
if you haven’t, and hit the like button for that YouTube algorithm. Done? Good. Let’s get started.
1. Creating A Budget You must first figure out the major parts
of the puzzle, and these are your cash inflow, and outflow before you can establish a budget
(you can use pen and paper, computer and spreadsheet, or app and tech). We
need this information because, you can't plan, if you don't know what you're doing.
Each month, you must know exactly how much money comes in,
and how much money goes out. It's much easier to build an action plan once you have those figures.
A simple budgeting system, such as the 50-30-20 budget,
can help you keep track of your expenditures without having to maintain a lot of categories.
Divide your spending into three categories: 50 percent for necessities, 30 percent for wants, and
20 percent for savings or debt repayment. You can always adjust the percentages to suit your needs.
You must make your budget work for you. You may also use a budget app to keep track of your
expenditures and budget even more easily. But what if you work as a freelancer,
or own a business, and don't always get paid weekly or biweekly? In that case,
you'll have to calculate your income using the law of averages. Calculate the monthly average
of your previous year's earnings. This will provide you with a starting point for budgeting.
2. Track your cash Adding up all of your monthly spending
is the second part of the budgeting method. Begin with the payments that are consistent and fixed,
such as your mortgage or rent, auto payments, insurance, debt, and taxes. For the most part,
these will be somewhat constant, which means you won't be able to simply adjust
the amount owed each month. And doing this is beneficial because it makes budgeting easier
when expenditures don't fluctuate significantly. Once done, it's time to dive deeper after you've
listed your fixed monthly spending to see where the rest of your money goes. To assist you with
this step, take out your chequebook or your most recent bank statement. Make a list of your monthly
expenses, such as utilities, groceries, entertainment, subscriptions, and so on.
You can keep track of your costs with the help of a monthly budget spreadsheet.
Syncing your checking account or credit cards to
a budgeting program is another way to keep track of your expenditures.
You can manually enter cash transactions or withdrawals from your bank account,
and the app will automatically record them. You may use the app to make a budget and set savings
objectives as well. To make the numbers work, you must lower your spending and eliminate unnecessary
purchases. This part isn't usually as enjoyable. 3. Savings is an expense, too
Savings would be picked last if budgeting categories were a high school exercise class.
In many budgets, the savings category gets whatever is left over after the “more urgent”
expenses (and, in most cases, the not-so-urgent ones as well!) have been paid. Giving your savings
the same priority as your living expenditures is the only way to take it seriously. If you set
aside a certain amount at the start of each month, your savings will increase considerably faster,
and you won't be able to "unintentionally" burn through cash on something else.
And we understand, saving might be difficult, and that’s if we even remember to do it at all.
Savings automation is a simple method to keep track with your budget. To create your emergency
fund, set up automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings account. To
start building your nest egg, open an individual retirement account and set up automatic deposits
every payday. You can also finance a 529 college savings account for your child's education,
with automatic contributions. Automating payments into various accounts guarantees that you save
rather than spend, and compound interest can help your money increase consistently over time.
4. Set money goals and create a budget around them.
Set some financial goals for yourself, and utilize your budget to help you achieve them.
Whether you're trying to pay off student debts, buy a house, or save for retirement,
having a good budget will help you get there. Those who wish to hold themselves accountable
while working toward a specific financial goal can use a budget as a north star.
We advocate using a flexible payment tool to keep on track with your financial goals.
This service allows you to spread out the cost of purchases from stores like Target and Walmart,
without incurring late fees. Budgeting will help you recognize
your spending habits, both good and bad, so you can eliminate any unnecessary expenses
and receive a clear view of your financial situation. This knowledge of your finances will
also help you plan for any unexpected bills, or financial setbacks. Don't be scared to experiment
with several budgets until you find the one that works best for you (or a combination of methods).
Your budget doesn't have to be flawless; it simply needs to be appropriate for you.
5. Be self-aware You know how you’re constantly being told
to know yourself? Well, that doesn’t just apply to your spiritual journey, it does to budgeting
too. Learn about yourself and your harmful habits, and then devise a strategy for overcoming them.
For example, if you know you'll be tempted to dip into savings to cover non-essentials in
the middle of the month, reduce the temptation by transferring the majority of your savings
to a bank other than your checking account, where it'll be out of sight and out of mind.
One of the budgeting fundamentals is to understand your financial strengths and weaknesses.
If you have a habit of blowing money in the mall, stay away from it entirely.
We know how flashy and tempting they can be. If you're often tempted to eat out, stock up on
goods, so you'll be more likely to cook at home. Knowing yourself and your flaws might help you
stick to the principles of budgeting. 6. Start building an emergency fund
While you may not have a lot of extra income when you first start budgeting,
setting up a suitable emergency fund will help you meet your budgeting objectives in the long run.
For an emergency fund, scrape together $1,000 in whatever manner you can.
Sell your belongings, work an extra shift, and save $1,000 as soon as feasible. This
$1,000 will serve as an emergency cash cushion to shield you from unforeseen financial events.
While $1,000 may not be sufficient to handle most full-fledged emergencies,
it is a decent starting point. With three to six months' worth of costs saved,
you can work toward developing a more comprehensive emergency fund over time.
If you have an emergency fund, it will be easier to stay within your budget
if you have an unexpected expense, such as a house repair or a medical bill. Instead of blowing your
budget to cover these expenses, you'll have a separate fund set aside for this reason.
7. Don’t give up if at first you don’t succeed Another important aspect of grasping the
fundamentals of budgeting, is tinkering with the process until it works. If your first budget
doesn't help you save more money or cut your expenditure, don't quit. Rather, find out exactly
what went wrong, and try, try, try again. If you fail this month, you can start over next month.
Also, don't put off the fundamentals of budgeting any longer. There are a variety
of reasons why you need a budget, and this isn't going to change anytime soon. Dive in, headfirst.
The longer you wait to get your finances in order, the more difficult it will become.
Don't get discouraged if you're having trouble with this process; it takes time, patience, and
perseverance to develop a budget that will work for you in the long run. Hopefully, these pointers
on the fundamentals of budgeting and why you need one will make things run more smoothly. Even when
you don't succeed, one of the most crucial budgeting principles is to keep on trying.
8. Stop comparing yourself to others You’ve also heard this a bunch of times.
More times than you can even bear probably. But an effective budget is a very personalized endeavor.
It's suited to your unique set of interests and needs, so going by an example budget,
you may have discovered online, or in a personal finance book,
is not a long-term solution. Where you live, where you work,
how you get from point A to point B, what you do for enjoyment, and what your personal goals are,
can all influence your budgeting categories. It will take some trial and error to find a budget
that works for you, and the ultimate product will be unlike any other budget you've seen. Make
peace with the fact that everyone has different objectives and that no two budgets are the same.
9. Prepare for emergencies Even the most well-planned budgets
can be shattered by unexpected expenses, which can quickly snowball into a tremendous debt burden.
They do say, after all, you’re one illness away from totally depleting your savings. So,
if you don't have money on hand to pay for these emergencies right away, you'll have to charge them
to a credit card or take out a loan, which will result in you paying interest on top of the costs.
A distinct category from normal savings goals should be set aside for emergency cash in every
budget. Your nest egg should only be used in the event of a true emergency, such as unexpected
unemployment, a medical emergency, or a major home or automobile repair.
Consider your emergency fund as a way to reinforce your entire budget,
rather than just another savings area. It will not only help you deal with difficult situations,
but it will also relieve stress and provide you peace of mind.
10. Avoid situations where you know you'll spend money.
It's time to stick to your budget now that you've created one, and we recognize the uphill task this
usually is. The self-restraint that you need to master to pull this off can seem daunting
but we’re rooting for you. We ultimately can’t do it for you but, we can be the
angel on your shoulder with these tips. Avoid circumstances where you know you'll spend money,
such as going out to dinner with friends or getting pedicures; instead, find ways to handle
the cooking or nail-painting yourself. Paying people to do things you can do yourself is one of
the best ways to stick to a budget, at least until you can afford to hire people to do those things.
Another option is to forgo one or just a few days a month, where you don't spend a dime
and instead cook at home or participate in free activities. You might be amazed at how many
seemingly insignificant purchases build up over the course of a month, and how much money you
save if you can avoid purchasing on specific days. Keep an eye on your expenses every so often (or
whenever you feel like it) and see just how well you're doing and if you need
to make any budget adjustments. Set clearly defined spending objectives for yourself but
also consider that being too strict can backfire and lead to impulse purchases.
Well, thank you guys so much for watching today’s video. I hope you enjoyed and found
value in it. If you are new to the channel, welcome and subscribe for more content like
this. With that said, have a great day, and I'll see you all in the next one.