Whether you are just starting out in your career, raising a family, and/or planning for retirement, there is always one area you could probably optimize - your budget. Sure, there are so many tools and templates out there to help you track your money, but do you know exactly what to plan (budget) for? These days, even many banks have an app feature now that tracks how much you spent last month which is directly tied to your account so YOU DON'T have to do anything extra to check (of course this is less helpful with the more accounts/cards you have…). So, it astounded me when I came across the following statistic:
A 2015 Pew Trust study concluded that 46% of Americans spent more money than they made every month! On top of this, another study found that close to 40% of millennials' spent money they didn't even have - a recipe for disaster.
First I thought, "That's crazy! How can so many people overspend when there are so many tools out there?" Then I reflected back on my own experience and research; I realized one thing. There are so many tools available, but there isn't a guide that includes both what should be IN your budget and HOW much it generally costs (or how to find these numbers). This is what led me to do further research and come up with these 5 steps to master your monthly budget and take control of your finances:
(1) Determine your core expenses, (2) Breakdown your non-monthly payments, (3) Determine your non-essentials budget, (4) Test it - Compare the sum of steps 1-3 to your monthly income to determine the feasibility, and (5) Finish it - If the numbers check out great, you're done! If not, dive deeper and iterate.
Personally, I have learned to be extremely wary of my spending habits, and - along the way - created a tool that I update weekly to track how well I stick to my budget and the overall health of my finances. I decided, "Hey - I'd rather know where my money goes than stick my head in the dirt." And I know most people feel this way too. For this reason, I've included a link below to my free template (also under the tools and templates page) you can use to begin to take back control over your personal finances and do my favorite thing - generate positive monthly cash flow!
If you are interested in learning more about the 5 steps to master your monthly budget, let me know! Follow this subscribe and either comment or message me "I'm interested!" and I'll post a deeper dive detailing the nuts and bolts of the whole process. Just for coming aboard, I will send you my basic monthly budget template plus a general monthly cost breakdown to help you get started.
If there is another adulting 101 topic you want to learn more about, let me know. Serving your adulting needs is my number #1 priority here and I LOVE to hear back from my readers. See you next time!
Free Simple Budgeting Template:
https://static.wixstatic.com/ugd/5fea71_2cf81ee3f69041469a7d8ece136df5be.xlsx
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