Creating a Budget...

Creating a budget you can live with may sound painful but once you learn how to live a bit more frugal and bargain shop for what you need and want, you can still be a Diva and no one will know your bills are paid!

Creating a budget takes some planning and patience. I would highly suggest doing it on a computer to make changes easy. Budgets can stay the same or change weekly. Some reason for changes could be more income, a debt being paid off or a change in the bills.

A budget should include the following;
1. Income - from all sources, every piece of money you get and even the money you don't tell your husband about. Don't include income that "you think" will come like bonuses, refunds and income tax refunds. Only count the dollars you are sure to have on hand.

2. Monthly expenses - break these down into two groups "Fixed" and "variable."

Fixed expenses are the same amount each month - think rent, mortgage, car payment, cable, Internet and so on. The goal affiliated with fixed expenses is to learn how to eliminate them one at time within reason. We will all have some sort of fixed expense but credit cards are not necessity.

Variable expenses change - think utility bills, groceries, gas, dining out, buying clothing, entertainment, splurges, those hot new jeans and purse and so on. Variables will be where most of your budgeting comes into play. This will be where get down to business and crunch numbers to learn how to lower your overall living expenses.

3. Total your income and expense categories and hopefully there is more income than expense. If not, cuts must be made and more income must be created. Easier said than done but not impossible. This will be a major focus of my blog.

*The end result should be all your income is accounted for and there is a category for it. Don't forget to make a category for Bank savings and emergency funds. Even if you can only afford $5 a week, it all adds up.

You need to set 2 major goals. Paying off bills and saving for retirement. As a fixed expense gets paid off, you will need to allocate the funds for that expense to a new category. Never let funds be left unaccounted for.