Do you need help with how to prepare a budget? Most of us don’t want to admit it, but we do need help. Here is a budget that I set up for myself that will give you a good idea of how to prepare a budget.

Expenses

Rent – $450 per month due on the 5th of each month

Car payment – $139 every two weeks or $295 per month

Electric bill – $40 a month (roughly) due on the 19th of every month

Gas bill – $59 a month (roughly) due on the 14th of each month

Car insurance – $158 a month due on the 20th of every month

Health insurance – $50 a month due on the 1st of every month

Gas – $55 a week or $240 a month

Food – $35 a week or $152 a month

Cable bill (including internet) – $80 a month due on the 25th of every month

Child Support – $75 a week or $325 a month

Car repairs – $50 a month

Oil changes – $10 a month

Haircut – $25 a month

Entertainment – $150 a month

Savings – $166 a month

Tithing $250

Now since I am a server and bartender I make cash on a regular basis and it is a bit hard for me to predict how much I am going to make each time I work. This budget is set up on a $2,500 take home income. This is considered a low income month for me and my bills that I have to estimate are high estimations.

This allows for some extra at the end of the month so that I can save more money and maybe buy something nice for myself. I stick to this with discipline and I use a system of envelopes. I have a bad habit of spending money if I know I have it so what I do is I allow myself a spending amount each week for little things.

This is usually around $15. Then, every night when I get home from work I take what I have earned and I put it into envelopes. I have one for each category. At the end of the week I make adjustments if I made more than planned for that week. Usually these adjustments are paying off a bill sooner than needed or saving more money.

By doing this I am able to stay within my budget and cover myself if a bad week does come into effect.

Now if you get paid by check, then you will have a much better idea of what you are going to make. I suggest that you set up your budget based on your average work week, if you don’t get 40 hours, and if you work overtime only ever budget for 40 hours. Treat overtime as extra and save some of it, use some for entertainment, and save some more.

Preparing a budget is not hard, but you will have to be disciplined to stick to it. Learn how to prepare a budget and you will be very happy you did.

When most people hear about creating a monthly budget they run the other way in fear. They just don’t know where to start. It certainly wasn’t something that most of us where taught in school. However, it would have been more useful than some history lessons.

Creating a monthly budget is really quite simply when you use the right worksheets. However, it does require a consistent effort on your part to both create and to live within your budget.

Follow the how-to directions below to start creating your monthly budget today.

First, track your spending and expenses for the next 30 days. You can begin by recording all your purchases on a weekly expense report worksheet that you fill out each day. Save your receipts from each purchase and then record a description of the purchase, the amount, its category, and how you made the purchase; whether by cash, check, or credit card.

At the end of the week, transfer all your purchases to your monthly expense record worksheet. On this worksheet, you will have a comprehensive view of all expenses for the month and how much you spent in each category such as food, household, and medical just to name a few. You will also record your monthly expenses such as utilities, car payment, credit card payments, and investments.

After you have track your spending for a month, you now have the information you need to create a monthly budget. Now you know exactly how and what you spend your money on. If you did not have a surplus of money at the end of the month, you can now see area where you can trim your spending in order to operate you budget with a surplus next month.

Next, you will want to fill out a monthly financial report worksheet where you record you income and come up with your net spendable income after taxes and any charitable giving. Then you want to take your totals from your monthly expense record worksheet and fill in all amounts in the categories such as household, food, medical, transportation, and recreation just to name a few. When you total up your expenses and subtract them from you net spendable income you will see if you have a surplus or not.

Finally, take the information you have learned and create a budget for next month using a monthly budget worksheet. On this worksheet, you will fill in your income along with your fixed expenses, fixed variables, occasional expenses, and installments such as credit card payments. After you total up your income and all expenses you will be able to see if you have an excess at the end of the month or if you are short. If you are short, now is the time to cut back on some occasional expenses as well as some fixed variable expenses in order to operate a working monthly budget.

As a newlywed couple, my husband and I made the same mistake many young couples do when they first get married – we had no budget plan. At first, it didn’t seem necessary because our income was modest, and our living expenses were very simple. I was finishing my last year of college and worked a part-time job and my husband was finishing his doctorate and had found a nice full time job in his field. We lived at the bottom of a hill right next to the University in a one bedroom apartment that cost $350 a month, utilities included. We didn’t even have a car payment. So we didn’t even think about a budget, but just doing our best and getting through school.

Soon enough, about three months into our marriage we started to notice something. Where was all our money going? It was all going out the door every month, but it was a large enough chunk was that it made us take notice of the way we were spending on simple things like groceries, eating out, household expenses, and gifts.

Then, we were told about a very easy personal finance system called “The Envelope System.” It is so simple and flexible that is can be used by and tailored to any person or lifestyle.

First, you start out by buying some plain envelopes – any kind will do.

Second, on a separate piece of paper, list all your main discretionary expenses such as: dining, entertainment, groceries, household, gifts, vacation fund, etc. Basically, any expenses in your life that you have control over, not loans, or insurances, utilities, and such. When we first started The Envelope System six years ago these were our discretionary categories that we came up with: Groceries, Dining, Entertainment, Household Expenses, Gifts, Vacation fund, and Gas.

Third, label each envelope with one category and decide how much money should be put in each category each month, bi-weekly, or week – however you decide is best for you. We decided to put our funds in each category on a monthly basis. At the beginning of the month, when our paychecks came, we took out a certain amount in cash and divided it up into our envelopes. How much you put in each envelope is entirely dependent upon your own lifestyle and income. Some choose to put $100 in their monthly dining out envelope per a month while another may need $400. The key is setting a budget that is within your means, but gives you a little room at the same time; and if you don’t use all the money from one envelope category that month it can roll over and add to the next month’s envelope. It took us a few months to find the right categories and the rights amounts for each envelope. For example, shortly after starting, we realized that Gas was not really a discretionary expense for us. We also realized that I needed some money to spend each month on things I need without having to make justification and without feeling guilty.

Fourth, and last, adjust your envelope system as needed. After a couple of months you may discover you need a little bit more or less in a certain envelope category than you first realized. You may also discover a new category that you need. Review your system every so often as inflation takes place, the economy changes, and your living situation changes. Make sure it isn’t overly tight or way too loose.

We’ve adjusted our system over the years a few times. As jobs change, children show up, or as inflation at the grocery store never seems to end. Now after six years these are our categories: Groceries, Dining, Entertainment, Household expenses, Gifts, Vacation fund. We also have a separate envelope each for my husband and I to use at our discretion without guilt or scrutiny.

The principles of the envelope system are that discretionary money is controlled as cash. The benefits are that when paying with cash, we are more aware of how our money is being spent, plus, there is a physical limitation to overspending, when the envelope is empty, then we have reached our budget. Some months it is easier than others to have cash left over; and when money rarely makes it to the end of the month, it usually means it is time to make adjustments either to the budget or ones habits.

Our situation has changed a number of times through the years. We now have significantly more income than expenses but still use the envelope system not necessarily to restrict our spending but to keep us aware of our spending. As our situation has changed, our situation will continue to change and we will adjust our envelopes as necessary. This system has simplified our finances and kept our spending where we think it should be (according to our needs and lifestyle) for six years now. If you’re looking for a new way to budget, try this out and realize the money and stress it could save you.

Budgeting money is easy, if you have a basic process to follow. By following a few simple steps, you can put one foot in front of the other and create a workable budget very quickly. Follow the steps below to create a basic budget to build on:

1. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish by creating a budget. Maybe you want to save money for a down payment on a house. Maybe you’re tired of paying a large portion of your paycheck towards credit card bills and want to get rid of them. Or, maybe you’re having trouble paying all your bills on time and you want to change that for the better. A budget is nothing more than a plan for how you want to spend your money. So, deciding what’s important for you will determine what your budget will be focused on. Get out a piece of paper and a pencil and write down in a single, positive sentence, what you most want to achieve with your budget.

2. On the same piece of paper that you wrote your budget goal on, list how much money you receive as income on a monthly basis. If you can get this exact, great. If not, estimate. This doesn’t have to be exact. For example, if you’re paid every other week, just list double the amount of your typical paycheck and mark it with an asterisk (if you get paid every other week, two months a year you get an extra paycheck. But, if this is your scenario, don’t worry about the extra paychecks – they’re gravy – move on.)

3. Now, list your expenses: Mortgage/rent, utilities, car payment, insurance, groceries, gas, credit card bills, etc. Include any items that will help you achieve your ultimate budgetary goal. A fast way to help you remember everything is to logon to your online checking account and review the past 60 days of activity. Don’t burn hours of your time worrying about getting everything perfect the first time out – no one is going to grade your work. Your first goal should be to get a roughly accurate ballpark estimate of where you’re at.

4. Do a little analysis. The odds are good that if you’ve followed the first three steps as described, you’ll actually have a little bit of leftover money showing when you subtract all your expenses from your income. If you’re scratching your head at this because you’re usually running behind every month, here is the aha moment you’ve been waiting for: coming up short means either an unexpected expense has run you awry and/or you have many small expenses that you underestimate on a daily basis that quickly add up to real (budget busting) money. Four dollar latte’s in the morning, magazines, happy hours, eating out one too many times and 500 channels on your television (10 of which you watch regularly) all contribute to this. Which leads us to step number five…

5. Weed out the unnecessary expense. If you think this is poverty consciousness, think again. Even rich people – especially rich people – don’t waste their money on things they truly don’t value. You can make finer coffee at home for much lesser expense, get your tabloid needs more than met on the Internet, have sinful barbeques and happy hours at home with your friends and family for a fraction of the price of going out and survive on less than the extreme deluxe satellite television package, all while having more fun for less money than you thought possible.

6. Keep your mind focused on a budget that leaves you with money left over at the end of the month. Repeat steps 2-5. That’s it. Keep refining the accuracy of listing your income and expenses, and keep weeding out the unnecessary expenses in your life. An extra-credit thing you can do to help you with your budget is to put as many fixed bills on auto-pilot as possible (auto-draft or automatic online bill pay) and withdraw a set amount of cash periodically to cover the miscellaneous expenses. That way, you won’t have handwritten checks, excessive debits or ATM withdrawals goofing up your budget.

Follow the above simple process for creating a budget that will meet your needs, making your life and your family’s life the best it can be.

There are many retirement planning software reviews on the Internet today that will help you find the right retirement planning software for you. However, don’t get too caught up in this process; keep in mind that retirement planning software can certainly help you achieve your retirement goals, but it is not the most important factor

This kind of software can certainly help you keep track of your income and expenses; this is very important. In fact, most people will never do this it will process with their finances.

Of course, it’s not all their fault; most people learn virtually nothing about the financial process in school, and therefore don’t know how to manage their finances very well. This is to explain why most people are very severely debt relatively early in life. In fact, the average American is currently $8,000 in debt today!

Think about it: what do most people do as soon as they graduate from college already saddled with thousands of dollars in credit card debt? Take out a mortgage, and a car payment.

Now, they are pretty much stuck for life trying to pay off their bills. Most people are endlessly trapped in this situation, which is why they spend of their life in the rat race.

Retirement planning software can certainly help you avoid this situation by tracking your expenses throughout your working years. This is why makes it finding the right one is so important for you.

A quick Google search will provide literally thousands of not millions of retirement planning software reviews to help you find the right one for you; locating the right one really isn’t that hard. In fact, simply asking friends and family know if who’ve already you to retirement planning software reviews can be the best thing for you, because you do not have to go through the process of reading them all yourself.

The bottom line is this: no matter how good the software is, it can never substitute having a good plan in place. For this, you will need to figure out what kind of lifestyle you want to live when you retire, and exactly how much that will cost you, and then find the right investment vehicle for you. Only once you have all this information will retirement planning software reviews really help you.