How to Set up a Free Budget Planner
Setting up a budget planner is vital to recording where your family spends money in these tough economic times and a great free tool if you follow a few basic principles and make your budget sheets according to your weekly or monthly pay schedules.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Paper
- Pen
- Computer with Internet
- home printer
- personal records of earnings and spending amounts
-
-
1
Get your family payed first. Record all means of income at the top of your free budget planner sheets. Weekly or monthly salary, sales commission, bonuses, investment or real estate income, and business related income if relevant.
-
2
Next list your Savings Goals. List all investments, savings accounts, retirement funds, etc. in your next budget category. Include a category for unexpected or emergency expense called liquid cash and decide an amount you can free up to fund this as well.
-
3
Brainstorm and Write your expenses. The next step takes a little effort and is probably one of the most important to having a good budget planner and it includes thinking of every possible way you spend money. Write them on a list at first as an exercise before trying to fit them in your planner and you will be amazed how many you can think of.
-
4
Clean Up. Now that you have a scary list of everything you spend its time to organize them by category into your budget planner. You can name your budget categories anything you like but make sure to include necessities first, then needs, then extras or wants, and lastly day to day family spending or allowances.
-
5
Put them in there place. After you have made your budget categories its time to place each expense in its proper category on your planner. If you have to pay the same amount on schedule like mortgage, insurance, dues, etc. they would be listed under necessities. If you have to spend something but the amount can vary like groceries, cable, utilities, etc. list it under needs. If you have expenses based on occasions like haircuts or school supplies list it under wants. Extras are items spent on almost unknowingly like lunches out and shopping sprees or unnecessary spending activities and these can be the most damaging and must be tracked.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Try to reduce spending in personal family allowances and extras first then look at needs to free up money to fund other categories on your budget planner.
Give yourself and spouse a set weekly or monthly allowance and avoid credit or check cards for day to day spending activities.
Be careful to over estimate expenses and under estimate income like commissions, bonuses, etc.
