Get Control!

One of the best ways to begin the New Year and keep more money in your pocket is to compose a BUDGET. Ugh. That probably gives you a headache, doesn’t it? Budgets are very important, because it is your way to CONTROL where your money goes, instead of it controlling YOU. I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey and have read several of his books. I will give you some resources to help you begin your budget. If you are married, this should be a JOINT effort. I’m sure only one of you actually WRITES the bills, but the other party needs to understand where the money is going and help out with the decision-making. This will actually help keep the BILL-PAYER from nagging about the spending quite as much!

There are two points that I want to highlight today:

Lump-Sum Payment Planning. There are many things that you pay once, twice, or maybe four times a year. These should be included in your monthly budget so that they don’t creep up on you! These can include: Car insurance, License/Taxes, and Organization Dues. My budget also includes: Clothing, School supplies/Extracurricular costs, vacations, gifts, and medical co-pays/deductibles. I figure out about how much I spend a year on each, and then I divide by 12. This is how much I need to budget each month. I keep a spreadsheet of each category, and keep a running tab of how much is in each “account.” This has been one the most important tools to keep me on track with my spending.

Analyze your bills and find out where you can lower your spending. Get out your last cell-phone bill, cable bill and utility bill. Can you change your cell-phone plan, or switch cable providers? We just switched cable TV providers last week and are now saving $65 a month. That’s huge! But even $10 or $15 adds up! You can also browse some of the sites listed below to learn how to shrink your electric and gas bills.
Finally, keep in mind that your budget is probably not going to go as planned for several months. This is a learning curve! Don’t get frustrated – just make the necessary changes until you get it right. If you stick to it, your pocketbook will thank you!

Dave Ramsey Budget Forms

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