If you feel like you are always broke, you have come to the right place. Having no money is never fun, we all know that, but many of us don’t realize it doesn’t have to be this way. Even without making more money, you can have more money. The idea is that you spend less.
What?! Spend less money? We all know that we should probably spend less, we just don’t realize how simple it really is. If you need to spend less money in order to have more money, you need to learn how to make a budget and how to make it work for you.
First, keep track of where you spend your money for at least 2 weeks. Write down every penny from your car insurance to the cup of coffee you buy before work everyday. Also write down all the money you make including all income sources. Subtract your expenses from your income.
Do you get a negative or positive number? If you get a positive number, that is very good. If you get a negative number, that is very bad. Zero means you break even. If you have a negative number, that means you are going into debt. Your goal should be to get a positive number.
Now is when you make a budget. Look at all your expenses and rate them. Which ones can you not live without and which ones do you not need? This is where you have the opportunity to make a budget work for you. Try to make it fit your lifestyle but be reasonable. The idea is to spend less money, so you will need to cut back somewhere.
By rating your items from high to low priority, you can make necessary changes. Some people will only need to make minor changes to make it work for them. Others will need to make very big changes. For example, If you’re net worth, income minus expenses, is negative $1,000 or more, you need to make some big changes. You are living beyond your needs. If the cutting the small expenses isn’t working, you’ll need to think big.
Are you driving a car with huge monthly payments? Sell it and buy used. Are you living in a 3 bedroom apartment costing two grand a month or a house with a huge mortgage? You can either downgrade or rent out extra rooms.
By customizing your own budget, you can make it work and save lots of money in the process. Saving money over time can earn you even more by investing and help you feel more financially secure.