It can be scary when you’re budgeting for the first time, I know. Don’t let fear stop you from making money work for you. The things we’re working so hard on will reward us the most.
It’s time to get your finances under control if you’ve been ignoring them. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I can recall a time in my early twenties when I would just go with the flow and ignored budgeting. I figured money was coming in to cover all my bases anyways.
Of course, not being mindful led me issues. For instance, repaying unnecessary excessive interest on a credit card for a small purchase. Being unmindful of my spending led me to not being active with my budget and I needed a change.
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Like myself, I am sure you’re reading this to take that mindful step towards your finances. You are ready to figure out finances and how you can make your money work for you.
It wouldn’t be a simple thing to do. We’ll need to change, some big and some small, but we can do it. Change’s always a little scary, but life is full of seasons and with them comes change. If we don’t make a positive change in our lives, we can’t expect anything to improve.
I’ve created free PDF worksheet bundle for you to download to help you figure it out! This is my Budgeting Worksheets for Beginners. It comprises of two pages in length. These worksheets will give you the basics of budgeting. It will help you question yourself (and your spouse) about some serious budget questions.
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The downloadable worksheets can be printed within seconds! If that’s not possible, I will send you an email of the forms upon request. Be sure to check your spam or promotional folders as sometimes they can show up in it.
One Step at a Time
1. Determine your income and your fixed expenses.
Once you are printing out the budget worksheets, collect all your bank accounts, checkbook records or other expense tracking systems, bill statements and anything else that may be useful to you. Sit down, start crunching numbers and complete worksheet number one. If you’re married, I encourage you to invite your spouse to join in on the assignment!
2. Take a look at your variable expenses.
When I faced financial difficulties and made my initial budget, I was shocked to realize the extent of my money troubles. I knew I had issues, but the severity truly hit me at that point. Therefore, I suggest printing two copies of worksheet 1 and one copy for Worksheet 2. Write down all the variable expenses and totals from the previous month.
For the sum of these amounts minus fixed expenses, compared to your income. When subtracting fixed expenses, do you have a variable expense that is higher or lower than your total income? If it’s too high, you’ve got a problem, and you’ve got to make some serious changes to the way you spend your money.
Being in the red means that you run out of money before the end of the month and may have to borrow money to survive. For a time before I came up with the first budget, it was my life – using credit irresponsibly.
Persist and persevere, for that’s the path to achievement. It’s time to make a budget for your variable expenses that makes sense, now that you’ve given yourself some startling insight into exactly how much money you spend.
Do you recall the total income, minus fixed expenses that you reported earlier? It is not possible to have more than the number of variables; therefore, you will need to develop a budget for those variables in line with that number.
3. Add it all up
Add up the numbers to make sure everything is balanced, once you’ve drafted your budget. Go back and repeat steps one and two until the numbers are balanced. It may be time to get rid of an expense that is eating up so much of your budget that you can’t get the numbers to balance. If you can’t simply throw this expense away, consider other costs that may be eliminated if your budget isn’t balanced.
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4. Self-evaluation
Worksheet 2 is all about asking yourself and your spouse, if applicable, honest questions about your budget and financial management. These questions may seem strange, but I promise you, they’ll help you understand how your money works and what you really want out of your budget. Don’t forget this part.
If you prefer a computerized approach to budgeting, you can try Intuit’s Mint or YNAB for some exceptional computerized budgeting solutions or you can use a simple budget planner.
I am no financial planner or have an accounting degree. I’m just a southern gal with a business degree and loads of experience at 40 years young to know better about managing money.
Today, make good on taking a mindful approach on budgeting and make a commitment to stick to it. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be in better financial shape before the new year.
Don’t forget to grab your free download!
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