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How do I plan my budget?

Posted on: 11th Apr, 2006 12:14 am
I have tried to budget numerous times but I have never been successful. I always find myself in some kind of financial bind. And I understand that part of my problem is discipline, but I want to know how to start a budget and what are its important components.

Mary
Hi Mary,

Welcome to MortgageFit Forums.

When you start budgeting, the first thing you should do is to start deciding your goals. It’s useless to make a budget unless there is something to aim for. Prepare an estimate of your monthly expenses on areas like housing, medical, transportation, utilities etc. After that see what’s left, and try to put a majority of the remaining income into your savings. Try making savings a regular part of your budgeting process.

Always look forward to cut down your costs wherever possible; it’s good to start off with big items like your mortgage, car loan etc. And finally, develop a simple strategy for keeping a check on your budget.

Hope this information will help you.

Thanks,

Caron.
Posted on: 11th Apr, 2006 12:20 am
Hi willis

Being concerned about how to improve the finances and taking initiative to improve it are two different things and it’s good that you have taken both the steps together.

You have to be a wise spender that’s the key.

Our mentor has covered some excellent steps in her blog, you can always see that – http://jessica.mortgagefit.com/

Adonis
Posted on: 11th Apr, 2006 12:28 am
Step 1: First calculate your total monthly income (including gross income and other sources of income).

Step 2
: Now you need to think over your major expenses for the month and then categorize them accordingly.

Step 3
: On the basis of your monthly income, prepare a budget regarding your monthly expenses for each item.

Step 4: Try to maintain your daily expenses in a sheet.

Step 5: At the end of the month, calculate your total expense for each item.

Step 6
: Now you can easily find out, on which item your expenses are up to your budget or on which it has crossed the budget. This will help you to cut down your expenses for each item to keep the expense within your budget.

Maintaining your budget in this way will definitely help you to get relief from financial crunch.

Nowadays, several financial sites are offering free excel tools for regular maintenance of your budget. It's always better if you can utilize such tools while planning your budget.
Posted on: 11th Apr, 2006 02:03 am
Hi,

Find out ways of having fun without spending money like a walk on the beach instead of going for shopping at the mall or a walk to a park instead of going to a movie.

And never be afraid of shopping around to avail the best rates.

Thanks,
Jerry
Posted on: 11th Apr, 2006 02:25 am
To plan your budget successfully, it is important that you allot a strict amount of money to your expenses. Personally, what I do is this, 50% of my monthly salary goes to my necessities, 30% goes to my savings while the 20% goes to my wants. Remember that even though these percentages work absolutely well for me, they may not work for you. So you can play around with these percentages until you find those that suit your needs. The important thing is that you learn to strictly use them according to their purposes. Know also that the percentage allotted for your wants need not be spent if there is not something that you really want to spend on. When this happens, do not force yourself to spend it and add it to your savings instead. Furthermore, budgeting requires you to track your expenses conspicuously; therefore, it is important that you also check your free credit score regularly.
Posted on: 31st Mar, 2013 11:18 pm
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