A new family budget can be created
with some easy planning. First, you will need to gather all of your
financial information, including income sources and expenses. Be sure to
include all income sources that are used to pay regular bills. The
budgeting process will help you sort out your finances and make it
easier to be more responsible about handling your finances. Budgeting is
the important first step in planning a family budget, to keep up with
rising costs of living. The family budget is also a tool for teaching
children about finances to empower them with their own money management
knowledge.
1. Determine Your Family's Monthly
Income Earnings
This amount will total all of the
take-home pay after taxes and other funds from sources such as interest,
rentals and other places. Include all income from all members of the
household that participate in paying the bills. For example, if you have
children who work, that income is probably not going to be factored in.
2. Create an Expense Chart
List out all expenses including basic
necessities such as rent or mortgage, insurance, utilities, vehicle
expenses, food, cleaning supplies, school and transportation costs and
other regular incidentals. Include automatic savings and entertainment
costs. Listing out absolutely everything you spend money on regularly
will provide an opportunity to thoroughly review expenses.
3. Determine Monthly Spending
Some of your expenses may come regularly
as a monthly bill, while others may be weekly, quarterly or annually.
Divide or add the amounts so that each item is represented as a monthly
expense amount. Include a reasonable amount as a cushion for bills that
fluctuate, such as utilities, food and other incidentals. To arrive at
these figures, go over spending for several months to determine an
average. Also include a sum for any unexpected expenses that may occur.
4. Compare Monthly Income against the
Expense Chart
Take the totals for monthly income and
expenses, subtracting the lower number from the higher. You will either
have a surplus or deficit for the income amount. If you arrive at a
surplus, you may design a budget to include saving or investing more. If
the amount is negative, this will indicate that you are overspending,
and it will be necessary to cut more costs to get within a reasonable
and workable budget.
5. Balance the Budget
Review all of the numbers on the expense chart. Consider how you can reasonably cut spending for each item. For example, it may be possible to spend less at the supermarket if you pay attention to sales in lieu of higher priced merchandise. If you tend to go out to restaurants frequently, you can choose to eat at home more often. Utility costs can be cut by turning off what is not being used. Make cuts where they are reasonably possible, mindful of actual living realities. After cuts are made, re-balance the budget. Arrange to send extra money into a savings or emergency fund as is feasible. Review the budge regularly, especially when considering major purchases.