How do i budget my money better?

Question

It seems like every time i get paid my check is gone i have a little bit of a spending habit but i need to start saving??

Answer 1

Well, what I do is i go to the budget shop and spend like only 20 pounds on my weekly grocery's shoping then keep everyting else back for paying the bills...

Answer 2

Hello - List out how much money you have coming in each month. List out what your fixed costs are (rent/mortgage, car payment, car insurance, phone, cable, student loans, commute costs etc.) If you have credit card debt look at how much per card and which has the highest interest rates.

Then track every penny, every single one, you spend for a month. That will give you a very good idea of where your money is going. Track it by category -

retirement

home

car (payment, insurance, etc.)

gas

cable/electric/water

groceries

eating out

clothing

movies/plays (include the popcorn)

books

newspaper (if you already paid your news paper or magazine subscription, figure out the monthly cost and include that)

hanging out with friends (bar, pool etc)

non meal related drinks/snacks (Starbucks, diet coke, snacks)

other

other

(other could be alimony, whatever, things I did not list out but you have to pay)

and you will see quickly where your money is going. Then you can see if it is all the right places, or if you want to make a change and not buy so many clothes, see so many movies (or pass on the popcorn) etc.

Consider what is really important to you and what is not and spend accordingly.

When you decide what you will change for the upcoming month, be sure to put that money savings somewhere and not just spend it on something else (or put it towards paying down credit card debt). And keep tracking what you spend for at least 6 months. that will help you get into new habits and patterns.

Retirement savings are very important, so if you have a 401K or the equivalent, dont stop contributing to that. I see so many questions here about stopping contributing or taking the money already saved out, dont do that. The value of the compound interest is huge.

Good Luck!

The link below is to a good article i saw today.  May help you as well.  

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeti...

Answer 3

Yes definitely you need to start saving.

Try to make a list on your expense , like for example :

1. Groceries = $$

2. Rent = $$

3. Phone Bill = $$

4. Electricity = $$

5. Shopping /entertainment= $$

6. Saving = $$

If you spend less on your budgeted shopping, then you can put more on saving etc.  or if you over shopping this month and you put less on saving this month then you have to shop less next month in order to put more in saving.

With the budget list, you have a guideline. You deserve to have some fun but you dont spend all your money !

Answer 4

One of the most classic of questions.

Budgetting your money takes sacrafices that most of us say we are willing to do, but are unwilling or reluctant to actually do so. The first thing you should know is that you're probably spending on things you don't need (obvious, however would help to be reiterated). We usually don't notice that we spend large sums of cash on things we don't need because we value things we like more than what they cost.

For one week or month, write down everything that you have spent your money on. Include (roughly) the cost of each item purchased so that you know where your cash is going. A lot of times, we take some  transactions for granted, for example, monthly charges for being in a club or recreation center. When you've got your spendings all figured out, it is possible to eliminate or cut down on spendings of things that appear to hold large sums of your income. You'd be surprised of how much you may save. If you have a friend, husband, or parent to help you with this, they may be able to offer their opinion about what you should remove from your list of things to buy.

Now for the hackneyed line: "I hope I helped."

Answer 5

it simple really! say you get paid monthly, take 10% out of your wage and put it in a savings account, pay all your bills and then whatever is left over divide by four and that your weekly spending allowance!

Thats what i do, works like a charm