Do you maintain a family budget?
Are you looking for the best budgeting tips?
If so, then you are in the right place
In a previous post, I talked about the common budgeting mistakes and how to avoid them
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Now I found there is a need to cover more tips on budget techniques
In my post below, I will show you some tips on how to budget your income and save money
Best budgeting tips for beginners
I will start with the basic budgeting tips every beginners should go through
Although they are simple but they require commitment and self control
Automate your savings
You go to your bank and ask them to deduct specific amount or percentage automatically from your income when you get paid
It is called pay yourself first, which means save your money before you start spending
Separate your saving account
When I first started saving money, I found it is a kind of temptation to deduct some money and I still have access to it
Best way is to separate your saving account into either a locked investment account or different bank account
Build an emergency fund
You can never tell if you will face an emergency situation
Those that happen and you are not prepared for like fixing your roof after a sudden storm or your car stops working
That's why it is crucial to build an emergency fund to face any crisis
Eliminate your debts completely
There are so many ways to tackle your debt
I like Dave Ramsey's method in his book Total Money Makeover
He advices his readers to sort all debts in terms of smallest and going up
Assuming these debts don't have a mandatory to pay like taxes
Then pouring most of the money into the smallest debt and maintaining the minimum for all the rest
Doing that gives you a great energy to continue fighting your debt
Get rid of non essential expenses
Now let's say you already built your budget
Look at the expenses, don't you see anything to cut
Number one advantage of having a budget is to look at all expenses and find some expenses to cut
It can be a GYM membership, you can replace it with a used treadmill from Facebook Marketplace
Or your home phone as cell phones are enough
Or it can be your cable, you can replace it with IPTV
Cut back on discretionary spends
I am a coffee addict especially Starbucks coffee
Spending more than $2 daily for my morning coffee is not acceptable
So I reduced it to once or twice a week
Actually I wouldn't notice that with a proper budget that tells me where I spend my money
Track your daily spending
To keep your budget on track, it is highly recommended to track your daily spending
You need a simple sheet of paper to write what you spend daily
It would be easy as you won't forget
You can use the weekly spending sheet below
Click to download for free from my products page
Setting your financial goals
I always describe the person who does not set up his/her financial goals with whoever going for fishing without a fishing rod
Setting your financial goals will urge you to take actions
I also recommend writing them on a sheet paper and hang it on a place in front of you
Choose a budgeting method
There is no right or wrong when it comes to choosing your budgeting method
You have to check what suits your best or what you think it is possible to achieve
There are so many methods like
- The zero sum budget method
- Cash envelope method
- The value based budget
- The half payment
- 50/20/30 as known as the balanced money formula
- And few more
I recommend to learn all of them under budgeting method
Best budgeting tips for adults
Once you finish your college or university and start looking for work
First thing that comes to your mind is prepare yourself to get married
Actually marriage is the beginning of your journey
But also you should consider to
Save money early – save as much as possible
You need to save money as soon as you start working
If you start saving money early then you will never regret it
Saving money for your future home will build you wealth
Think about saving for retirement
To retire with good saving, you need to save for at least 35 years
The more you save early the better for you
I have met so many people who think about saving for retirement when they reach 40
They regret not saving earlier in their twenties but I also say it is never too late
Even in your forties and you do it persistently
You can save 10% or little it bit more that would be great
Best budgeting tips for common laws or those about to be married
Are you about to get married?
I hope you already know your spouse well especially when thinking about financial aspects
Agree together on your future financial plans
One of the best budgeting tips also crucial for you to consider making sure you agree with your spouse on your future financial plans
It is very frustrating to discover you tend to save and your spouse splurges
Don't tell you it was a surprise for you
There are so many signs to tell you if you both have the common financial values
Best budgeting tips for couples or newly married
Let's say you both share a good common financial values
Below is what to do next
Create a joint venture spending account
I don't see any reason to have separate accounts for each spouse
You should both have one joint account unless you want to hide something
I talked in a previous post about why you need fun money?
So you agree to have a room for your own spending but other than that you are supposed to agree on what both can spend together
Combine your finances together
You have to combine your finances together
Don't think what will happen if we get divorced
It doesn't work like that, you are not supposed to get married worrying about what if you get divorced
Combining your finances help both of you share the right decision on your money
Budget for fun/vacations and romantic time together
Thinking about retirement by saving money is a good thing
But if you think that you can save thousands on what you will spend on vacations towards your retirement
Let me tell you, if you don't enjoy your life while you are young
Do you think you will enjoy it when you retire?
I believe there is money to save and money to spend for fun
Set some time to discuss your budget together
I know talking about budgeting and planning your finances can be boring
But if you both agree to set up a 15 minutes every week to look at your spending and check your budget – trust me it is really worth it
I discussed in a previous post, how to work with a spouse who refuses budget commitment?
Best budgeting tips for parents or family
Budgeting for a family is an experience that is totally different from empty nesters couple
I believe you both sacrifice for your children and you don't feel like sacrificing
Below is few points on what you need to do
Save extra money during the 9 months pregnancy
You know a new baby is coming
Till this happens you have got 9 months to save money
Budget extra for food
One of the budgeting tips for family is to budget extra money for food
It is really hard to deprive your kids from what they like to eat
Build zero-sum family budget
Use the zero sum budget method
In simple words, you assign a task for every dollar you earn from your income
It is called giving every dollar in your income a job to do
You get a budget with net value of zero
Pack your lunches
When I was single, I used to buy lunch most of the days
It is really tough to keep this practice when having a family
There is nothing wrong if you pack your lunches every day from your left over dinner
Budget activities and spots for kids
I had once a big bill because I did not plan for my 2 kids swimming lessons
That caused me to pay around $700 but because I know now that I will pay this amount twice a year
From now on , I decided to plan for it throughout the entire year
Save for kids education
I will speak about myself, I know it is hard feeling to see my son not able to join the college/university he likes because of money shortage
Before it is too late, I decided to save for my kids education by maximizing the annual contribution and leave their money to grow in a well selected mutual funds investment
Consider buying used items
I have sold so many household items I stopped using on Facebook Marketplace
Also before buying anything new, I go and check it there
If I find it in a very good condition, I buy it without hesitation