Just Do Your Family Budget

Why Prepare A Budget?

Unless you have unlimited funds at hand, you have probably reached the end of your checking account balance before you reached the end of the month at least once in your life.  I have probably done it a few more times than I care to admit to my family, and of course, to the world at large. I am usually ok when it comes to routine bills, but those unexpected things seem to always pop at the wrong time, and my bill  juggling act does not qualify for prime time entertainment.  Does this sound familiar?

We Need Budgets!

I hate sitting down to prepare a budget. I find it boring and a little scary. But I know that the only way I can manage to get all of my bills paid with something left over for retirement and emergency funds, is to make a plan.

Do I always stick to my plan? No, sometimes I deviate. Let me admit it now. I always deviate. But if I didn’t have the plan there, I would do much worse. When I do not have a plan, I do not manage to save anything. When I have a plan in place, I save about 50%  of what I mean to save. But as they say, half a loaf is better than none!

If you are having trouble paying all of your bills, but you do have income coming in, you may need to sit down and prepare a budget. We have a handy online family budget worksheet that may help you with this task.

Sometimes you just need to go through the process of writing everything down, and then adding it all up. This should help you see what you are spending money on. It should also help you eliminate wasteful spending.

I would suggest printing your bank statement or gathering up your bills for last month. That way you can find out where you money went. Did you spend $200 at the grocery store when you thought you only spend $150?  Over the course of a month, these mistakes add up. Maybe you forgot to cancel a gym membership you never use. Maybe it is time to cancel it and just exercise by taking a walk instead.

Just try to ask yourself if you can get your bills paid. Then can you save something in an emergency fund, attack credit card debt, and save for retirement? If so, pat yourself on the back!