I want to Budget but how do I go about it? Budgeting is a disciplined exercise that is carried out by Countries, Organizations, Companies and “US”. It’s basically knowing the Incoming’s and finalizing the Outgoing’s.
You can be a college going student budgeting your pocket money, a young entrant into the corporate world, an entrepreneur or the head of the family who has to think of the whole family before your own self. While budgeting you have to be headstrong and not think from your heart, being emotional can hamper this exercise as you have to focus on what is there to spend.
Budgeting is not a choice it’s a “RESPONSIBILITY”
We are brought up in this world first to live up with other’s expectation and then our own expectations. Sometimes our thoughts run owing to the society. Where to spend and how to spend really matters, hence in budgeting, learn to say no to yourself before you need to say it to anyone else.
The whole idea on providing the above information is to know what you are going to save and what can be done with those savings.
So let’s now see how we can design a budget that will work for us:
Calculate all your income: Add up your income from every source. Once you know exactly how much you get every month, it will be easy to decide how much you can spend and allocate the funds.
Identify your expenses: You need to know your monthly expenses. The below table can help you in identifying and categorizing your expenses. This will give you a clear picture of how much you have to spend in a month and what is not so important and can be cut down.
Set your goals: We all have something we want to achieve in the future. Be it a hefty amount for retirement, an international trip or a house. We should have a clear image in our mind for what are we saving. If there is a purpose, you will be driven to achieve it.
Layout a plan: After you have identified your various expenses, you know your fixed expenses are more or less going to remain the same but how can you play with your variable expenses is important. The easy way to do this is to distinguish between what you need and what you want. Fulfill you needs before you go for the wants.
Small Savings: “Penny Penny makes a Pound“. We all have heard this, but you will understand it much better when you practice it. Small savings happen when we adjust our habits. You can have a small jar where you drop your daily change. By the end of the month you will get an amount which may not be more but still it will be worth it. Also, alter your variable expenses. If you dine out every weekend, make it alternate.
Keep reviewing your budget: Budget is not a thing you do once and forget it. You have to keep an eye on it every month. Any additional income can help you adjust the budget positively and any extra expense may require you to cut down on something. Make sure you follow your budget and keep a track of it.
BUDGETING is a strategy for your own growth, stick to it and your money will stick to you, we are human beings, at times we go through many emotions due to many disturbances and turbulence’s in life, a bad day at work means a good evening at the bar, a bad day at home means an afternoon spent shopping, at times being foolish by thinking you only live once buy forgetting the ones living for you or dependent on you.
Running your home is a huge responsibility, it requires skills and creativity, like the wise man quoted “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”, we all know our part of quotes, but depends on us which ones to use and which ones to ignore.
We mature with our age and experience, but it is important to know, we were brought up and educated, just because our previous generation was generous to budget for our upbringing and its cycle we have adopt, follow and measure.
Budgeting doesn’t mean one has to live a strained life and count every penny. It simply means spend what you can afford, spend wisely and spend what is yours. If your income allows you to have a lavish life, have it. But if you are trying to ape someone else’s lifestyle, you would not go very far before you fall in the dungeon of debt.
In my next blog I will talk about retirement. How to plan it and some rules to follow.
Till next time
Happy Budgeting
This blog is a part of Blogchatter’s #blogchatterA2Z challenge.
Credit: This blog has been written by my husband Mr. Kunal Kajaria, with some additions done by me. Budgeting is his forte and he has been doing it for a very long time now and I really wanted his experience to come out in this blog.
21 replies on “Steps to Budgeting”
[…] down on your lifestyle and variable expenses (to understand variable expenses, read my blog Steps to Budgeting) and invest big chunk of your income into your retirement […]
budgeting sounds simple, but it is usually in budgeting itself that we stumble!
Budgeting is actually a tedious chore, but planning it well can help alot. I loved the details mentioned and especially the chart that mentions each and every expense coming our way.
Seeing that chart I remembered my accounting days… Haha. Budget is key to have good financial status. It helps you to plan your future and make your present comfortable. Great tips.. That’s for sharing dear.
Budgeting is our need. And we should keep an eye on our spending. Making an excel sheet always helps in comparing the numbers.
We need to learn about budgeting from a young age and must be taught the right way to save. We too follow similar kinds of excel sheets to manage our daily budget.
I used to write my daily expenses before marriage but now really miss doing that; I agree with the tips you shared. I will start planning before the month begin.
I am a person who prefer to follow budget, these steps suggested by you is super helpful/.. Let me work on the numbers again
We too maintain an excel sheet on our spendings. this sure helps us manage our monthly budget.
Budget management is really important and keeping all the records of money spent and savings every thing have to be listed … I have an Excel sheet done for this.
To keep a track of income and expenses is the basic formula to budgeting. You hav pointed it out with Conviction and lucidly
Budgeting is essential for managing and allocating of funds. This is as much true for the household as well as big enterprises. A budget is a tool that helps planning for contingencies and for the future.
Yes budgeting is one of the most important aspect of proper finance management. you have explained everything so well in this post in simple language. indeed a helpful post and great series.
From planning a one-day outing to yearly vacations, budgeting is important to understand. I agree that savings and variable costs must be watched closely.
I do budgeting in the format suggested by you buddy for many years now and it indeed has always been very helpful always
Good informative posts. Budgeting can sometimes gets a little tricky, unless planned wisely.
Indian women are great at Budgeting, it is just that we don’t call it ‘budget’ officially. These are great tips and a way to prioritize the planning in a right way.
I can’t do a month without budgeting. Years back when I started working my mother taught me how to effectively do it and ever since then its become a habit.
“Budgeting is not a choice it’s a “RESPONSIBILITY” – this so right! Loved how you broke down the information in such easier terms. That excel definitely helps. Good article!
Having a stipulated budget is indeed very important to ensure that you don’t suffer towards the end of each month or in fact middle of the month. We strongly believe and practise it in our house
I always plan to save a little fo emergency needs but I I not able too. thi chart is helpful as u have dived the cost into many forms like fixed and variable etc.
I ll try this out .