Proper money management is the center of any household or business’s financial success. Developing a proficient grasp of financial management at a personal level will significantly enhance your effectiveness and ability to achieve financial freedom and success.
How to Manage Your Finances
First, record the current month’s planned income and expenses. Even if you have a good memory, a detailed spending plan cannot be held in your head. Recording it will help create an overall financial picture.
How to do it? To start, we draw up a table with all receipts and expenses on paper (or in Excel, as it suits you). It is essential to think over the aspects of life well and not miss anything. Although the first time, there will be shortcomings. It is impossible to carry out precise and correct planning right away. If you find any defects, you should record them in notes. This approach will help enhance the budgeting scheme for the next month. Then, each following account will be better than the previous one.
Steps to Help You Control Your Budget
You should plan any trip to the store. Following a shopping checklist as closely as feasible will help save money. It is helpful to make a menu for several days, based on which it will be clear how many products you require to purchase and in what quantity. To a considerable extent, the ability to plan your expenses well is influenced by the skill of time management. We have discussed it in detail in our article “Personal time management or how to manage your time.”
- Spending accounting: You can write them down in a notebook or notepad or use specialized applications on your smartphone. It helps to detect unnecessary purchases and avoid them in the future.
- Putting aside money: There is always a risk of deprivation of a permanent income. It is essential that in case of an unforeseen situation, there is a reserve that will help stretch out for several months. It should be at least three salaries.
- Family budget: planning and controlling home finances
The well-being of a family relies, to a large extent, on budgeting skills. Written planning rules are also needed here. The savings capacity is no less important than accounting for income and expenses.
There is an exciting way to organize a household budget. It is called “10-20”. Its importance lies in the monthly saving of at least 10% of the entire income. Financial experts advise you to set the goal of accumulation immediately—for example, a vacation, a significant purchase, or a reserve for a rainy day.
“Seven Envelopes” is another way to handle a family budget. On the day of receiving wages, you need to distribute the money in seven envelopes. Their goals can be as follows (there may be fewer or more points; everything is individual here):
- Monthly payments.
- Nutrition.
- Money for children.
- Expenses for essential purchases (furniture, appliances, clothing).
- Cash for vacation, entertainment.
- Savings.
- “Joy” – funds left from the last month after making mandatory purchases and payments.
By the names, it is straightforward for what purposes the family budget is distributed.
Method “Four Envelopes.” This choice is equivalent to the previous one. But here, each envelope compares to a week of the month. This method’s drawback is the difficulty of allocating funds for specific expenses.
When trying to maintain a household budget successfully, it is enough to follow seven basic rules:
- Avoid debt. Avoid debt, unexpected loans, and bad credit cards whenever possible.
- Moderate accumulation and allocation of funds don’t accumulate just for hoarding. Choosing a specific goal (for example, buying a car) is advisable. Such motivation will enhance productivity.
- Each family member must comprehend how and why the budget is planned.
- Distribute income and expenses according to financial facts today.
- Be sure to set aside at least 10% of income in the reserve fund.
- At the end of a certain period (for example, a year), please the family with trips, purchases, and entertainment.
- Regularly, preferably every month, plan and record. Only stability will help to achieve results.
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