Financial Budget Help
If you have a low income or a lot of debt or other monthly obligations, budgeting might seem overwhelming. Recovering from times when you were not budgeting and you got behind on bills can be difficult. The first time you budget you may need help setting up your budget. There are also tools to help you track and analyze your budget.
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Budget Counseling
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Budget counseling services help you set up your initial budget. Many financial planners will do an initial consultation, which includes setting up a budget for you based on your current financial situation. Credit counseling services will also set up a budget with you if you enroll in the program. Your church, library or community center may offer classes on budgeting or financial counseling at a low cost or for free.
Budgeting Software
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Budgeting software makes tracking your budget easier. Many programs will download the transactions from your bank account and then you categorize the transactions. This reduces the amount of time you take to do your budget each day. Some programs will begin to categorize the transaction for you as it recognizes patterns, and you only need to check to make sure the transactions were done correctly.
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Budget Guidelines
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There are basic guidelines you can use to set up your budget or check to see if your budget falls within good parameters. According to CNN Money your budget should have about 30 percent of your pay going toward housing and debt, 10 percent to savings, 26 percent to living costs and 25 percent to taxes. A further breakdown can be made for food versus entertainment costs. The problem with these guidelines is that if you have a low income, the housing costs and other daily expenses will take up a larger percentage of your budget. Make it a goal to save at least 10 percent and to get out of debt until your income increases.
Envelope System
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If tracking your budget is the most difficult part of budgeting, consider switching to a cash-based envelope system. With this system you can still pay your set bills out of your account, but you will withdraw cash to cover your other categories. Label an envelope for each specific category and then put the correct amount of money in the envelope. You can place the receipts in the envelope after you have spent the money in order to check where you spent the money. Stop spending in that category when you run out of money. This only works if you stop using your debit and credit card for these categories.
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