Does it sound familiar? If not, then you're probably well on your way to a good savings. But if it does, then let me share with you this, something we all know, but most us take for granted: Budgeting. You may not realize it but each day you might be spending your money on a little "extra" something. No matter how small it is, it accumulates over time, and sooner or later you begin to wonder where all your money has gone. Proper budgeting is simply taking control of how much you spend and how you spend it. It is knowing where your money goes. Bugeting frees you from wondering what happened to your money.
If you don't already have a list of your expenses, you can start by doing the following:
- Set aside TIME to do your budgeting. You don't budget as you go along. Budgeting should give you an overview of where you spend your money and how you should spend it.
- Make a list of all your bills and how much you expect to pay for each.
- Make a list of all your expenses in a day, from transportation fares to food. Total them and multiply that by the number of days between paychecks. If you get paid every 15th and 30th, then multiply the estimate by 15.
- Add the total of all your bills and daily expenses. Compare that with the money you recieve each payday. If the total expenses are bigger than your pay then you need to seriously reconsider how you are spending you money.
- Check your list and see where can you reduce your expenses. Do eat out frequently? Do you take a taxi often? Do you use your credit card a little too much?
Knowing where your money goes is very important, for it gives you a degree of control over how and where you spend. If you dont know where your money goes, how would you be able to control it? After all, you can't control something you don't know.
