Budget | Count Your Pennies

How to Stick to Your Household Budget

July 26, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

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Creating a budget is a lot like making a to-do list. You’ve thought it through and written it all down, now you just have to stick to the plan. While that may seem like a tough thing to do, the simple act of making a conscious commitment will help you to adhere to your budget. Here are a few practical tips that will help you save money.

1. Keep all receipts. Commit to saving receipts for all purchases for an entire month. At the end of the month, sit down to review your spending. You may be surprised to see just how much you spend on meals, snacks, coffee or outings with friends.

2. Balance your checkbook. Not everyone does this and it can make it hard to stick to your budget if you incur extra bank fees for bounced checks and insufficient funds. Commit to balancing your checkbook at least once a week.

3. Pay in cash or with a debit card. When you pay with credit cards, you incur interest charges that will cost you more money if you don’t pay off the balance in full in time. Those online personal loans can also take a toll if you don’t pay them off in time.

4. Ask your household to commit to the budget. You can’t be the only one who tries to save money. Speak to your household members about doing their part.

5. Grade yourself each month. Sit down with your budgeting spreadsheet and assess your household’s progress in adhering to the budget. Reward yourself with a favorite treat or a badly needed household item when you perform especially well each month.

Filed Under: Consumer Finance, Family Budgets Tagged With: Budget, Credit card, Money

Prioritizing Your Financial Expenditures

July 12, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

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When it comes to your personal finances, it may not always be the best of situations. You may be battling debt, have a busy lifestyle, and need to make important decisions for your money. Indeed, learning how to prioritize these expenses is incredibly vital for your financial health.

Without question, your budget is one of the most important items in this discussion. If you have not created a budget, you should get on this right away. Your budget, however simple or complex, needs to stay updated. There is little use for an outdated budget that you cannot – or do not – consult.

Use your budget and review your bills in order to prioritize how you are spending your money. However tight your budget may be, give yourself room to enjoy, save, and plan with your money. You can’t restrict yourself too much, though those in debt should get creative with ways to save money.

Of course, you may run into trouble from time to time. While having an emergency fund is ideal, that may not be possible. Consider a backup option, such as a payday cash advance, to meet important expenses that may stretch your budget. When financial times get difficult, a source like this can be a life saver.

Overall, do your best to keep a bird’s eye view of your financial situation. This will allow you to meet essential and optional expenses with your options and interests in mind. Once you get used to doing this, prioritizing your expenses will become much easier. You’ll likely be able to save a lot of money for some goal you have in mind.