How to Budget Your Money Expenses
Creating a monthly budget will help you keep track of your expenses and meet financial goals such as paying off debt and saving for the future. A budget should include all of your bills, as well as living expenses, and your monetary goals. You can create a simple budget in the course of an evening.
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Instructions
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Calculate how much you bring home each month from paychecks, alimony, child support or other sources of income.
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Create a list of your fixed living expenses such as the cost of your rent or mortgage, auto insurance, homeowner's insurance, cell phone bill and car loan payment.
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Estimate the total you spend each month on variable expenses such as utilities, gas and groceries. Write these totals down.
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Write down each luxury expense you have including cable television, Internet, gym memberships or monthly movie rental clubs. Write down the total for each item.
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Gather your credit card bills and write down the minimum payment due for each, as well as any debt you have on each card.
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Estimate the total you spend each month on entertainment and miscellaneous expenses such as going out to eat, purchasing movie tickets, or buying clothing. Write the number down.
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Subtract all of these totals from your total take-home income to determine how much excess income you currently have in a month. If you have no excess income, you may want to consider canceling luxury items like cable television or reducing your entertainment expenses.
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Subtract at least a portion of your excess income to put toward debt repayment each month. You can start with the credit card with the smallest debt and apply the excess money toward the payment until you pay off the card, then move to the next until you pay off every credit card.
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Calculate how much you can save in a month. According to CNN, saving 10 percent of your total take-home income is ideal; however, you may not be able to afford that much if you are working on paying debts.
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Save every receipt and track how much money you spend for one month. Compare these totals to your estimated totals for variable expenses like groceries and entertainment, and adjust your budget if necessary.
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