Budget Planning – How To Make Budgeting Money Simple

Budget planning should not be complicated. After all, what you want o know is how much money is coming in, how much is going out and where it is going. Some people do love to keep spreadsheets and to analyse and dissect every detail, but that is not for everyone. This does work for some people but most of us want a simpler way of budgeting money. In fact, to start with, all you need is a sheet of paper and a pen.

Make a list of your regular expenses. Start with your basic living costs – these are the costs that are essential for survival.

The list should include:

1. Rent or mortgage payments

2. Power bills – electricity, gas, heating oil

3. Food bills

4. Clothing

5. Cost of getting to work – public transport

6. Motor vehicle costs

7. Any other regular payments such as medical insurance, loans

By making a list you will find out how much it costs you to live.

Most people get a surprise, some get a shock, when they have a close look at where their money is going. Maybe this is the reason you have put off doing it – because you fear the truth. But you do need to do it to build your financial position and free yourself of worry over money. In this case, the truth will really set you free.

The Rewards Are Great

The benefits of budget planning are real: the feeling of knowing where you are spending your money; the feeling of taking control; the feeling you are actually, finally doing something constructive about your finances. The rewards keep coming – in the form of being able to identify surplus money so you can start building your wealth or, just as important, being able to understand why you do not have any surplus money to invest.You will soon start to question certain spending habits and to put a value on them in a new context – the context of building your wealth and gaining financial security. If you have avoided spending time on your finances because it all seemed to hard, you really don’t have much of an excuse. With some simple tools and a little work, you can start to shape your financial future. This is what budget planning is all about.

How To Budget Money

Article by Bill Irace

How To Budget Money – Accurately And Honestly

If you want to know how to get your finances in order and how to budget money, this article is for you. In order for you to figure out a budget you have to know exactly what you have to work with. For that reason you need to follow these steps to make a budget that is realistic and that you can stick with.

While it will be important for you to be committed to making your budget work, and that will probably mean making some simple sacrifices and lifestyle changes, it’s unrealistic to assume that you will suddenly become this ultra frugal person. Don’t set yourself up for failure by making your budget too tight. It’s just like a diet, no one will stick to a really strict diet and they will eventually fail, a budget is the same way; if you make it too restrictive you won’t stick with it and you will fail.

The first thing you need to do is grab a piece of paper, a pencil, and a calculator. Next you will make two columns on the paper. At the top of the first column you will write “Expenses”. At the top of the second column you will write “Income”.

Gather up all of your bills and any expenses that you pay on a monthly basis. Make sure to include everything including spending money and a clothes allowance. To make sure you’ve included everything take a look at the last several months of credit card bills and bank statements.

If you have bills that you pay quarterly or yearly just average them out to figure out how much you need to save each month in order to have enough money to pay them when they come due.

Now that you’ve got a complete listing of all your ongoing monthly bills, total them up. This number will be how much you spend every month (of course for most people the amount of money you spend from one month to the next will vary depending on the time of year and other factors, but if you’ve gathered all your statements this should be a fairly accurate listing of your monthly expenses.)

Next, take all forms of income, this includes your pay from work but also include any form of interest payment you may receive, income from a roommate, etc. Just like with the expense column, you want your income column to be as accurate and complete as possible. Make sure to include your after tax pay. Total this column.

Now that you’ve got your Expense and Income columns totaled all you need to do is subtract the expense column from the income column. If the number you are left with is a positive number than you are doing ok. That is the amount of money you have left over every month and you can use that money to pay down debt, open a savings account or start investing.

If, on the other hand, you are left with a negative number after you’ve subtracted your expense column from your income column, you need to make some serious changes to your spending habits. It’s simple math, you are spending more than you are making and unless you can increase your income you will have to decrease your spending.

There you go, three simple steps on how to budget money. No matter where you are financially right now, you can be in a much better position in a few months if you follow these steps and take control of your money starting today. Good luck.

This is how we budget our money. If I wasn’t detailed enough, please let me know. I will answer any questions.
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How to Cut Living Expenses and Put Money Back In Your Pocket

Article by Scott Workman

Millions of homeowners throughout the country are struggling to meet their mortgage payments and pay off credit card debt. Are you one of those? Before you throw in the towel in frustration, have you first considered all of the ways you can save money to help meet those payment obligations and pay down those debts?

As the old saying goes, “a dollar saved is a dollar earned”, or something like that. When it comes to saving money, there’s no more practical way to do so than to look right inside the confines of your own house.

Some very practical ways to reduce home operating expenses include:

1) Adding weather stripping around doors and applying caulking to seal air leakage around windows.2) Adding and extra 6 inches of attic insulation.3) Using less water by installing low-flow showerheads and employing strategic watering methods for lawns and gardens. 4) Keeping lights turned off in unused spaces in the home. 5) Wrapping your water heater with an insulating blanket. 6) Operating your furnace only when occupied.7) Heating only the room you’re in, not the whole house.

Employing these strategies should be in the interest of every homeowner for environmental reasons, if for nothing else. But did you know that these strategies could also cut hundreds of dollars in monthly living expenses for the average homeowner? For many, the savings can be startling.

We sometimes get so caught up in how we invest our money (worrying about risk and volatility in the stock market, which we can’t control), that we don’t look first at what should be most obvious and that which we have the most control over – our monthly living expenses.

Most people forget, or simply don’t think, how leaving the water running continuously, or leaving the lights on or how we heat our homes when not occupied, can cost hundreds, if not thousands a year to household expenses.

Most people don’t stop to think how flipping on a light switch spins that electric meter a little faster. And most don’t think how running the kitchen faucet continuously while wiping down the counter-tops wastes gallons and gallons of water. These modern conveniences are not free. They cost money. They are always at work siphoning away our hard earned dollars and precious resources.

Do you want to start saving? If the answer is yes, then it’s time change some habits.

The first step is to think. Step back, pause long and hard, and ask “how do we live from day to day? Are there changes we can make that will save on resources?. Take an inventory of everything you buy and consume. What can be eliminated or trimmed back? You may discover that you and your family are largely unaware of how the little things combined can add up to a whole lot. If you’re doing everything possible to cut and slash, congratulations! But for the rest – now is the time to make some changes.

The next step is to gather together your utility bills for the past year including electric, gas, telecommunications, etc. Analyze, compare and decide where your biggest abuses are. Then make some arbitrary goals for cutting costs. Ask yourselves “what percentage cuts can we make toward some of our biggest utility expenses?

Most households could cut water usage by 50% with just a little discipline. That’s one of the easier ones. It really is easy to take shorter showers (two minutes is all it takes most people to get the job done). Less water on the lawns done at strategic times really works.

Cutting down the operating time of the furnace and air conditioner by 50% is also very practical with some strategic planning. Heating only the primary dwelling space of the home using a room heater (rather than turning on the central furnace to heat the whole house, including unoccupied spaces) can slash heating costs by up to 60%!

Time to act. Gather the family around. Then set goals and guidelines to use less water and power (i.e. shorter showers, turning off lights, keeping the thermostat lower during winter months, etc., etc.). There is a big difference between just talking about it and actually doing it. Everyone in the household should agree to make changes and agree to be held accountable to them.

Many homeowners are slashing their average monthly living expenses by as much as 50%. The fun part is doing the math. Imagine spending 0.00 per month on utilities and cutting that in half. That’s a savings of 0.00 per month. That’s ,200 per year that could be used to pay down the mortgage, pay off credit card debt or put toward a child’s education fund.

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Easy Ways To Save Money

Article by Lori Downes

It’s true, the economy is not doing well and many people are looking for easy ways to save money. This is the perfect time to review your energy habits. You just might find some super easy ways to save energy and money right now. Whether you are in a house or an apartment or flat, whether you rent or own, there are many energy saving habits that will save money.

First, let’s start with the basics. If something is not in use, turn it off. If no one is watching television, turn it off. If no one is using the light, turn it off. Super easy, yes, but also easy to forget. One step further … if it’s not in use, unplug it. Even if an appliance is off, it still uses a small amount of energy whenever it’s plugged in. It’s not a lot, but every little bit counts!

Next, lights. Compact Fluorescent Lights or CFL’s are extremely energy efficient and long lasting. If the word fluorescent puts you off, be assured these are not the old fashioned flickering fluorescent. CFL’s come in a variety of styles and sizes and can be used throughout the house and outside. If you’re not sure how you are going to like a CFL, just buy one and try it out. You will notice that CFL’s are more expensive than regular light bulbs but they will start saving you energy and money right away and will last much longer.

Heating and Cooling. In the old days, people didn’t have electric blankets and air conditioning. They also didn’t have high energy bills! The tricks they used in the old days still work today and if you can use the heater or air conditioner just a little less, you will save money. Area rugs on the floor can help warm a room. When it’s cold, open the curtains to let the sun and its warmth in. When it’s hot, close the curtains and keep the heat out. Maybe you use one part of the house the most and just that part can be kept comfortable with fans or space heaters. Does the entire house need to be heated or cooled?

One last tip- If it’s not raining outside, skip the clothes dryer and hang out the laundry. And if it is raining outside, you can still skip the dryer by using indoor lines and racks.

Even in today’s slow economy, we can all look around us and find ways to save energy that will also save money. Just a little effort will go a long way.

For more energy and money saving tips visit:www.MakeYourHomeEnergyEfficient.com

Florida Average Insurance Costs

The protection of your health and assets is important no matter where you are. In Florida, protecting your health and assets in is especially so and is more expensive than in most other states. According to the National Association of Insurance commissioners, home, health and auto insurance in Florida are amongst the country’s highest average rates.  

One group of policy seekers can look on the bright side. Renters looking to insure themselves are paying on average only 2 annually for renters insurance, which was slightly less than both California and Texas. Compared to other rates this price seems reasonable, but offers little comfort for homeowners.

The higher cost of auto insurance in Florida is not incredibly surprising of course, considering Florida’s high risk for natural disasters. The average price of a basic liability policy is just over , which is close to twice the average cost in lower-risk states like Washington and Idaho.  Of course, these averages refer to only basic liability.

This is the bare minimum, the least expensive and offers the least amount of coverage. In Florida, or anywhere else, this can be a major gamble.

Homeowners insurance in Florida is also amongst the most expensive. The reason for this is can sometimes take several different policies before your truly feeling any peace of mind. Flood, Fire, and tornado insurance are often separate policies, so maintaining ample coverage can be difficult. The average annual premium for home coverage is 43.

Health insurance in Florida is highly influenced by the environmental factors as well, which is more rough news Floridian homeowners; health coverage also ranked as substantially high. A family health plan usually costs upwards of ,000 annually, while policies for individuals generally run just under ,000.

Another thing to consider about coverage in the Sunshine State is the possibility of your insurance company being financially ruined by a severe storm. Although this is highly improbable, smaller companies can be and have been ruined by large-scale storms like Katrina and Andrew. Going with a larger establishment could significantly reduce the chance of this occurring.

When seeking any service or commodity in any place, shopping around will determine the quality of your plans and ensure your chances of getting the best rates. When searching for plans and obtaining quotes, be sure to compare only quotes offering the exact same coverage. This provides a an equal scale you can use to determine which company weighs more and less in terms of value and expense.

Overall, Florida residents suffer from some of the highest insurance rates in the country, which due to its geographical risks goes without saying. Renters insurance is surprisingly affordable, but in every other category, prices are up. Although shopping wisely can always save you money, higher average insurance rates are perhaps just one of the costs for palm trees, sunshine and paradise.  

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Budgeting Your Income by Percentage

 

Having a budget is always a good idea because with a budget you can determine exactly how much money you have and exactly how many expenses need to be paid. Everything will ultimately add up to 100% of you income so why not take control and decide exactly how your money will be spent? Here is a rough guideline of what percentage of your income after taxes to allocate to certain needs:

Housing

When it comes to your basic living expenses, you should consider putting in about 40% of your net income into your housing. This includes your entire rent or mortgage payment, house insurance, condo fees, as well as all your utilities including your water, heat, electricity, phone, cable, internet etc.

Try not to put in any more than 40% in this category or you may not have enough for the other categories.

Food and Clothing

Expect to spend about 15% of your income on food, including grocery shopping, fast food stops and dining out at restaurants. If you make more money, this percentage may be smaller and if you need to you can skimp on this by going out to dinner less and buying things on sale at the store. Another 5% of your income should go to clothing, although you can always cut this smaller by wearing last season’s styles instead of buying new ones.

Transportation

Transportation usually takes about 15% of your net income, however, if you are simply taking the bus it could be as small as 2% to 5%.

On the other hand, if you have a brand new car and you have to pay for car payments as well as insurance and gas, it may very well be higher than 15%.

Debt/Savings/Investments

In this category, set aside about 20% of your income. About 10% of that should go to any debts (credit card payments, line of credit, school loans, personal loans etc), 5% should go to savings (in case of emergency) and 5% should go to your investments or pension plan. We all want to retire someday (preferably sooner than later) so it’s best to start thinking about this as soon as possible rather than too late in the game. Obviously if you don’t have any debt, you can cut this 10% out and put more into your savings, investments or your other needs such as housing or transportation.

Charity and Miscellaneous

This last section of your budget should take about 5% of your income. It is very important to give back to society so if you have a steady job, give at least 3% back to those in need. The last 2% of your income can go to entertainment or other miscellaneous items such as hair colouring or a night on the town.

In conclusion, it is important to remember that this is a general guideline of a budget and will most likely need to be adjusted to fit your specific needs accordingly. Just remember that if you put more of your money into one category, you will have less to put into another category.

 

Efficient Ways To Cutting Costs

Cutting costs is not just about getting rid of employees. There are some instances where letting employees go is the only way to remain in business, but those are desperate measures and should always be a last resort. Of course, you don’t want to do business with more employees than you really need, that is just wasteful. The resources could be going to make some other improvements or reinvesting in the company.

But there are cases that are more efficient and cost-conscious could save a job or two. There are always places to look for improvements and savings. The trick is to look in the right places and make the right decisions to get as much as the return on your investment. Say there is a machine that costs a lot of money. They say it is very expensive. Would be the impact he made in his factory in such a magnitude that would justify making the purchase? If the ROI is not worth it, then the purchase is not necessary. The same is true with people.

But sometimes you have to give them the tools, the knowledge to make a better return. They are always looking for an easy way to do their job. Does that mean they are lazy or can be a way to be more productive? Sometimes spending a little money to solve a problem is well worth it, but you have to look at all the variables ahead of time so that you can make an informed decision.

But the better trained your employees are and the more that they take ownership in their job and the company, the better job they will do and the more productive they will be. They will also begin to look for ways to make the plant more efficient and maybe even come up with new ways that were never even thought of before. But you have to give them a chance to voice their ideas. Never shut out the ideas that come from the workers. Sure, they are all not going to be gems, but you may be surprised.

An employee should not be afraid or reluctant to share an idea with a supervisor and should never feel like they were not heard. And if there are good ideas coming through the ranks of workers on the ground, give credit where credit is due. Never leave credit for fear of rewarding the person.

Watch out meat-lovers. With corn prices doubling since last year, industrial-scale farmers with corn-fed cattle are searching for ways to cut feeding costs — by introducing cheaper recipes. WSJ’s Matt Rivera reports. (July 14)
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5 Ways to Save Your Office Money

These day it seems like everyone is trying to save money.  Whether its at home or work, people are cutting back unnecessary expenses and purchases.  Unfortunately, most people forget about ways to improve their current systems to save money on things they already have.  Below you will find 5 easy ways to save your business money on products and services your business already has.  Saving money, now there’s a bottom line we can all agree on!

1. Get a laser printer

For companies that do a lot of printing, the cost can start to add up.  If you are using an inkjet printer, most of the cartridges will only print a few hundred pages before needing to be replaced. Laser printers can print about 2,000 pages per toner cartridge versus about 200 with a traditional inkjet printer.  It is a small adjustment that can save a lot of money both short and long term.

2. Check your settings

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is leaving electronics, lights and heating on when the office is closed.  Follow the same energy-saving plan at the office as you do at home. Turn off lights when you leave and set the thermostat a bit lower. Turning the air off when you leave at night prevents it from cooling/heat when no one is there.  Most importantly make sure you turn computers and printers off at the end of the day and put them in energy saving mode so they will turn off during long period without use.

3. Reuse electronics

Electronics are one of the most expensive office supplies for any company.  But rather than buying new computers, try to upgrade and improve (instead of replace) wherever possible. Consider the needs of your employee and decide if an upgrade to their current system would fit their needs.  Even small changes, like more memory and a new monitor, can make a big difference to your bottom line.

4. Buy in bulk

Generally purchasing anything in bulk will always save money and office supplies are no exception. Consider purchasing paper, toner cartridges, ink pens, sticky note pads, and even computer systems in bulk to save additional money.

5. Switch to VOIP

Because VoIP sends signals via broadband internet connection you will have one bill from your ISP and that is it.  Most companies have unlimited internet service for a fixed charge and can upgrade to VoIP easily, so not only do VoIP phones eliminate phone bills, they make your phone and internet bill one fixed cost.  The cost of international calls on a regular phone can also be pricey but by using a VoIP studies indicate that companies can save up to 90% on international calls.

Keeping Track of Your Expenses

Any financial expert will tell you it is essential to make a budget if you want to have control of your personal finances. I too believe a budget is crucial. But for it to work once you have created it, you need to do one more thing. You need to follow up afterwards and therefore you need to track how you spend your money.

Keeping track of the expenses is what most people find boring and where they quickly lose the desire to use the budget. This is why it is important to anticipate this problem and make sure you have a viable system to track your expenses. You have to consider this at the same time as you construct your budget, as it might influence how your budget is structured.

The most important thing to consider regarding the follow-up is how you will be tracking your expenses. Keeping track of the income is usually relatively easy as there is often only one deposit of your salary every month.

The tricky part is the expenses. Once you have collected all the information about your expenses, you need to compare them to your budget. If you haven’t set up a system that works for you it can be a very slow, tedious process.

There are several different ways to keep track of your expenses and you should pick one that works for you. The first method I will mention is simply to keep all your receipts from all your purchases and then at the end of the month you calculate how much is in each category. This can be a very tiresome way to do it. You will need to spend several hours at the end of the month figuring out if you are within budget. The good thing is that this will keep your records consistently updated and you can use this information when you revise your budget.

Another way to do it is to read all your expenses from your online statements. If you use a card to pay for all your expenses you can simply copy your online statement into an Excel file when you log onto your online bank account. All you have to do then is classify each post. Of course this requires being able to use a card for all your expenses, and still recording the few cash payments you might make. This way you have all your expenses documented and can easily compare them to the budget. This is my personal choice for keeping track of my expenses.

The last and very popular way is the envelope system. With this system you take one envelope for each category of expenses you have and at the beginning of the month you put the amount of cash in the budget for that category into the envelope. Every time you want to purchase something it has to be from the envelope representing the category of the purchase you are making. After the purchase, you could put the receipt into the envelope so you can keep better track. With this method you never overspend and can constantly see how much is left for the month. The disadvantage is that you have to keep a lot of cash in the envelopes.

Whichever of the methods you choose, remember that it has to fit your life-style. Otherwise you will fall into the same trap many people do, that makes them give up on following their budget.

How to Lower Your Household Plumbing Costs

Professional plumbing services are expensive and also require you to be present while the work is being carried out at your home. Its best to prevent these problems from happening in the first place by following some easy maintenance routines. And even if they happen, you should not hesitate to fix the smaller plumbing issues yourself rather than calling in a plumber for them. It will save you money and you will get a quicker resolution to the problem compared to waiting for an expert to show up.

Some problems can be easily avoided and kept at bay by following some simple rules. For instance, the most common household plumbing problem is a blocked kitchen sink drain. These drains get blocked because of food particles, grease, oil etc, which get constantly flushed into the drain. To avoid this, make sure that the utensils are emptied out before being placed in the sink.

Never pour used oil or fatty liquids into the sink as the warm water melts them and causes a build up of fat in the drainage pipe over a period of time. In case the drain clogging does happen, you can use both chemicals, commonly called drain cleaners, and simple equipment like drain snake and plunger, to remove the clog.

Leaky taps and faucets can also be quite easily fixed at home using a few simple tools. When you are faced with a leakage in a faucet, the first thing you should do is to find out its design and make. This will allow you to open the faucet correctly and aid in finding the root cause of the problem. This information can be easily found over the internet in most cases. When using tools like screwdrivers, it is a good idea to tape their edges that are likely to come in touch with the tap or the faucet so that the fixtures finish is not spoilt.

A number of times the leakages are simply caused because the various parts of the faucet are not fitted well and may be loose, which causes leak of water through it. Simply opening and putting together the faucet can resolve this kind of problem. The other common problem with faucets is the spoilage of washers. When you open the faucet and find that the washer is damaged, simply replacing it with a new one can fix the leakage. If even this does not solve the leakage problem, its time to refer the issue to a professional plumber.

Similarly, you can also try your hand at fixing other common plumbing issues like leaky toilet flush tanks or shower knobs. If you are not sure about how to put something back together after opening it, then a pen and paper can come in handy. Make detailed notes while opening any of the fixtures and use them to put it back again. Most leakages occur due to worn out washers and simply replacing them can fix the leakage for good. These simple solutions can save you significant money that a professional plumber would have charged you for these easily manageable jobs.

Learn Piano FREE only 1 more day! bit.ly www.mahalo.com If you have lost your job or had your hours cut, reducing the household budget may be an important step in making ends meet in spite of the loss of pay. Would you like to know how to cut household expenses to make your money go farther? Check out these other Mahalo.com related pages: How to Curb Your Spending : www.mahalo.com/how-to-curb-your-spending How to Save Money : www.mahalo.com/how-to-save-money How to Save Money on Groceries : www.mahalo.com/how-to-save-money-on-groceries How to Make a Budget : www.mahalo.com/how-to-make-a-budget Also Check out these other Video Playlist: How To Get 3 Stars on Angry Birds 2nd World www.youtube.com How To Get Into Shape www.youtube.com How To Highlight, Curl and Straighten Hair www.youtube.com How To Make Coffee Drinks www.youtube.com How To Make Drinks www.youtube.com How To Pair Wine www.youtube.com

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