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![]() ![]() ![]() If you’re unsure of how to initially structure your budget in a way that leads to savings, some common budgeting systems might come in handy. To help you do just that, use these techniques to help allocate your budget toward the right mixture of expenses. Once you have more finalized income and expense numbers to work with, it’s time to work toward a sustainable plan that not only accounts for your spending but makes sure you’re doing that spending in the right places and on the right things for you. Monthly Budgeting Techniques and Goal-SettingĮven if your expenses are lower than your income, you’ll likely want to make some adjustments, too. If your budgeted expenses are greater than your income, then you’ll need to identify areas where you can cut spending. Make Adjustments: Subtract your expenses from your income and see whether you are in the positive or negative. ![]() For categories of spending that change over time, examine recent statements from your bank or credit card provider to estimate how much you tend to spend in these areas each month. As you’re tallying these expenses, make note of which ones might fluctuate from month to month, as well as which ones are fixed. Tally and Understand Your Monthly Expenses: Write down all of your expected monthly expenses, including your mortgage or rent, groceries, utilities, transportation, debts, and entertainment.Also be sure to include other sources of income like Social Security payments. If your income varies from month to month, use an average based on the last year or start with your low-earning month of that year as a baseline. Calculate Your Monthly Income: Start with your monthly after-tax income or “take-home” pay as your spending limit for each month.There's a lot of power in making numbers do what you want them to do.īefore you continue, please read our disclaimer.Make better decisions backed by data and insights Learn More One last note: These might not be the fanciest spreadsheets out there, but on the whole, they've helped me tremendously. There are a lot of files available - some of which are set up to accomplish tasks you probably never considered! Some of these spreadsheets I use myself others I created simply because someone, somewhere asked for them. You'll find spreadsheets that can help you with household budgeting (I used to call 'em "spending plans"), planning for future expenses, amortizing loans of various types, and tracking your debt loads. A given spreadsheet might be designed for daily, weekly, or monthly use. What follows are custom, downloadable Excel spreadsheets which I created for all sorts of things. I consider it to be a fabulous financial tool, and just a "Can't live without it!" program.īut what you're here for, most likely, are the spreadsheets. (Especially if you have a 2016 or later version. ![]() There's no doubt that folks who have experience with Microsoft's Excel spreadsheeting program know that it's extremely helpful tool for managing your finances.īuilding your own custom spreadsheets is very easy, and although Excel's price may seem a bit steep, once you've learned how to make it do what you want, there's really no limit to its number-crunching, chart-building, and record-keeping abilities. ![]()
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