Don't you just hate budgeting. Nobody wants to see how
much money they can spend because it makes them realize
how little they can buy. But budgeting isn't that
hard.
Categorize your purchases.
Look over all your
purchase for the past year and define a category
for each on such as Taxes, Car, Food. Then break
those categories down. Taxes/Income Tax, Car/Gas,
Food/Dining Out. Here is an example of an end result:
Car: Gas Maintenance Taxes
Now you can use those
categories to find out how much you have spent on
each specific category and how much you have spent
on the overall category. Once you have compiled that
list you can compare with other years and come up
with an average amount you spend.
Purchase a computer
program to help you.
Quicken, Microsoft Money, Mac
Money and many others can allow you to keep close
tabs on your finances. They will also break down
your categories and allow you to create a budget
relatively easily. The most valuable part of the
program is the reports they offer you. You can build
a report to show you your total amount spent on each
category or whether or not you are over budget.
Answer
budget questions.
According to Everybody's Money,
a Credit Union National Association (CUNA) sponsored
publication, if you can answer "yes" to
most of the following questions, you have pretty
good control of your financial affairs.
- Have you
calculated your net worth in the past 2 years?
- Have
you set any financial goals in the past year?
- Did
you develop a plan to meet your goal or goals?
- Are
you meeting the goals you set, at least most of the
time?
- Do you have an up-to-date will?
- If you're single,
have you established power of attorney for your financial
affairs in case you become incapacitated?
- Have you
reviewed your insurance coverage in the past two
years?
- Do you have a retirement financial plan?
- Have
you made a point of educating yourself about investments?
- Do you know your approximate debt-to-income ratio?
- Do you have credit in your own name?
- Do you make
sure to spend some money on music, motorcycles, travel,
flowers, fly fishing or whatever is special to you?
