No matter if you’re a three figures salaried person or a business owner with a hefty amount flowing into your account every month, you are at risk if you need to make a budgeting plan.
At-risk?
Yes, you have read it correctly. When you have money, it becomes hard to stop making unnecessary purchases. And the money you desire to spend in a month would no more be in your account within a week.
How do we make a budget?
That’s the question we are addressing in this article: budgeting is no longer a big deal.
First and foremost, it is essential to pick out the right budgeting tools. Here are four tools that you can use to make a budget.
- Pen and paper
- Spreadsheets
- Worksheets
- Envelops
Pen and paper:
The most basic and simple tool to start budgeting is pen and paper. To begin with, write down your income on a piece of paper, then write all your expenses, either big or small. Try to identify the difference between your wants and needs. It is necessary to make columns for everything so that your sheet looks more organized. Now divide your income into all your needs first, and you can spend the rest of the money on your wants, but it is better to save a part of this money for bigger and better uses in the future.
Repeat the process every month. You can also make photocopies of the first blank sheet so that you have a ready-to-use template every month.
Click here to learn the ultimate guide to budgeting.
Spreadsheets:
Another easy budgeting tool is spreadsheets. There are many options for online spreadsheets, but Google sheet is one of the easiest since you can use it on your phone and edit the spreadsheets offline. They have free templates for their users, and you can customize your own. If you use a credit card, spreadsheets are the best tool to stay updated and organized.
Worksheets:
There are several websites where you can find free budgeting worksheets. The more organized you are, the better it will be for your budget. Have you ever heard about the 50/30/20 rule? It is the most successful and viable method to manage your money.
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According to this simple rule, you separate the tax from your income and divide the rest into three categories, 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings. There is no better way than worksheets to formulate your budget according to the 50/30/20 method.
Envelopes:
Another old-fashioned but highly effective budgeting tool is envelopes. This system is a simple method of saving money. Allow me to tell you how. If you use cash, create separate envelopes with labels like grocery, gas, electricity, and the like. It works exactly like the 50/30/20 rule after taking out the tax, but instead of taking a chunk of 50% of your income, you put a specific amount for each category in their respective envelopes.
Budgeting is fun if done the right way. Learn more ways of budgeting here.
Happy Budgeting!
