How to Chart a Family Budget History
Charting your family's budget history is a good way to clearly see what you spend. Looking at numbers doesn't always hit home just how much money is being used, but a visual aid can help your family get a better understanding of your finances. Making a chart to show your family's budget history is fairly easy to do.
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Instructions
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1
Write down the amount your family spends each month for at least three months. Ensure you account for household bills and personal spending on things such as eating out, entertainment and gift purchases.
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Draw a vertical line on an 8.5-by-11-inch piece of paper--printer paper will work fine. Draw a horizontal line that runs perpendicular to the bottom of the vertical line. You should end up with an open right-angle shape.
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3
Label the horizontal line "Month" and the vertical line "Amount Spent."
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Use a ruler to make twelve evenly spaced marks along the horizontal line and label them with the abbreviation of each month (Jan., Feb., Mar. and so on). Make the same evenly spaced marks along the vertical line, but label those with dollar amounts ($400, $425, $450 and so on).
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Note under each month on the horizontal line how much you were budgeted to spend. For example, if your family's budget for March was $1,150, write "$1,150" underneath "Mar." on your chart.
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Plot the amount you've spent over the months using the data you've obtained on the chart by making dots. Ensure that the month along the horizontal line corresponds with the amount you've spent on the vertical line. Use a pencil so that you can correct any mistakes.
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Connect your plot dots together so that you can more clearly see how your spending trends. For example, if the line goes down, that means you're consistently spending less. If the line goes up, your family has been consistently spending more money each month.
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