
Having a budget for every month is a simple way to see how
much the breadwinners are bringing in and how much is going out to pay for
items and services. Once you create your first monthly budget, you’ll be able
to get an estimate of how much funds you will need to pay for things each
subsequent month.
Easily Keep Your Monthly Household Budget on Track
First, determine how much you and/or your partner makes each
month after taxes. Add up your pay stubs from a recent month to get the monthly
total income.
Next, start itemizing every expense. List all of your
utilities, rent/mortgage, car payment(s), child care, private school, lessons,
tutoring sessions, gym membership, etc. You may even need to take into account
alimony or child support if those expenses aren’t automatically withdrawn from
your paycheck. How much food and vehicle gas do you typically use each month?
To find out, keep your receipts for at least one month and then add up the food
receipts and gas station receipts. If some expenses are paid on a quarterly or
yearly basis, divide that out by month or make sure you include the expense for
just those months.
Now that you have all of this information, mark it down in a
ledger or enter it into an Excel spreadsheet. List each month vertically down
the page or spreadsheet. Then record each expense by name horizontally. You
could even group expenses in categories—fixed, variable, and discretionary—to
give you a clearer picture of where your income is going. For example, are you
spending more on discretionary items, such as a gym membership, or is a fixed
expense, such as your mortgage, greatly depleting your monthly income?
Add all of the expenses across the row and enter the total
in the third to last column. This number is what you need each month for your
expenses. Of course, some months’ requirements may vary depending on vacations
or unforeseen expenses. But if you plan ahead, you should be able to get a good
estimate of monthly funds needed. The second to last column should be your
total monthly income. Subtract your income from the expenses and enter this
number in the final column. If your expenses are greater than what your income
is, this will be a negative number.
Sample Monthly Budget

Plan for Financial Stability
Once you have this initial monthly budget, you can revisit
the expenses to see if you need to cut spending and where to cut it (if
possible). This budget can also help you with long-term financial goals. Do you
want to pay off your student loans, increase your retirement savings, or go on
a coveted vacation? Maybe the gym membership, pricey cell phone plan, or
monthly massage could be cut to make way for these goals. By looking at each
area of your spending, you can make adjustments to keep your budget on track.
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