Secrets of keeping to the family budget
A person’s financial success starts with a conscious effort to control one’s expenditures and save up for the future.
The high cost of living in today’s society, wherever you may be, has made budgeting a priority among families. In today’s inflationary world, nothing is more important than knowing how to wisely spend the meagre income that you get.
Financial problems usually arise due to lack of proper budgeting skills, or failure to keep to the proposed budget. No matter how much income you may have, it is still important to keep track of your assets and liabilities, your earnings and expenses.
It is ironic but a person who earns thousands will have the same problems with the person who earns by the hundreds. Most often, different kinds of people, with diverse income levels, have budgeting problems. Others who may have been successful in making a budget, usually fail to keep within such a budget.
A budget refers to a financial plan, taking the incoming and outgoing monetary resources into consideration. A good budget should not only mean a balance or equity between income and expenditures. It also means lesser expenses, and making an allowance for savings.
If you earn a thousand dollars per month, you should map out all the necessary expenses you will have to incur during the month such as payment for your house, food and transportation. Of course, this is presuming that your tax liabilities have already been settled. What remains after you deduct your total expenses from your income is your savings.
What you do with your savings will make a difference later on, when the need arises. You can choose to keep your savings in a piggy bank or place it in a bank where there is minimum interest rate but at least your money is safe from you and from intruders. With a bigger savings, you can get the services of a financial adviser who can give you higher-yielding investment options
Here are tips to make sure that you keep within the family budget:
1. Maintain a logbook where you can list your income and expense account on a weekly or monthly schedule.
2. Buy your groceries at one time. To do this, make a list of all the things that you would need for your target period and purchase them at one time. Sometimes, there are discounts if you buy by the dozen so take advantage of this.
3. Avoid going to the supermarket and shops if you do not need to buy necessary items. This will keep you from making unnecessary purchases and keep you from straying away from your budget.
4. Think twice before you buy something. By doing this, you will realize that it is not really a necessity but a whim.
You may compare items on their prices. Do not limit your options to just one store only. You may find the best item that can be useful and affordable to you by window-shopping first rather than buying by impulse. Many stores out there carry the same items and can offer lower prices.
5. Buy online, whenever possible. Online stores pass their savings from rental costs and warehousing to the online consumer, thus they can afford as much as 70% off their rack price. When buying items online, Google it first together with the word, “discount code”. This can give you further reductions on the item you want to purchase.
6. Eat homemade dinners as often as possible. Plan menus that are practical and easy-to-cook to encourage eating at home. Save money by dining out only on special occasions.
7. Avoid shopping to de-stress. Try walking around the park or watching a comedy instead.
8. At a sale, buy only if you really need the item and not because it is being offered at a discount.
9. Pay off your credit card balances each month and avoid finance charges. Better yet, use cash as much as possible, unless using plastic will give you a better deal (0% interest on appliance purchases, or cash rebates).
10. You can save more money in your household by conserving electricity. Be sure to turn off appliances that are not in use. You may compare your monthly electric bills regularly to check if you are maintaining your desired bill.
Determine the things that are important to you. Identify the items that you need and the items that you want to have. Always remember that you should only buy things that are important and needed in your lifestyle.
Budgeting is knowing where your money is and not wondering where it went.