Budgeting is a great thing to do even if you make a lot of money. If you have lost your job and are short on cash then budgeting is an important tool to make the most of the money that is within reach. Without a budget, you may be overspending money that you do not even have without realizing it, until it’s too late.

Here are some of the steps you can take to build and plan your budget.

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Start Budgeting To Save Money

Budgeting is a great thing to do even if you make a lot of money. If you have lost your job and are short on cash then budgeting is an important tool to make the most of the money that is within reach. Without a budget, you may be overspending money that you do not even have without realizing it, until it’s too late.

Here are some of the steps you can take to build and plan your budget.

1. Figure out how much money you have coming in. If you are employed, make a list of all of your income. If you are unemployed, think of your unemployment benefits as your income and list the weekly amount that you receive in unemployment assistance.

2. Calculate your savings.

3. List all of your expenses.

You can start by figuring out your fixed expenses, which includes all monthly bills that relate to basic living costs, including mortgage payments or rent, food, insurance, and utilities.

Then, think of your variable expenses. These are costs that may change. For instance, the money that you spend on clothing, to-go food, and entertainment would all count as variable expenses. 

4. Compare your income and savings with your expenses to contrast how much money is coming in and how much is going out. 

5. Figure out where you can spend less. This is the hard step. 

Decide what payments you are making that are essential and figure out whether there is anyway to spend less on these. For instance, you may be able to apply for a federally backed mortgage loan to help pay for your home so that you can spend your cash on other bills

Next, decide which payments are expendable and determine how to reduce the money that you spend on them or eliminate it all together. 

These days, budgeting does not have to be hard. There are many free budget apps and budget planner software programs that can make creating a budget a simple task. A spending tracker app can even alert you as soon as you overspend your planned budget.

Learn about simple cost cutting measures on the next slide.

By Admin