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If you’re a single woman you have a lot of freedom when it comes to creating your own life path. Along with your life path though means the responsibility when it comes to managing everything that life throws at you.
No matter if you’re just done with college, divorced or simply singe by your own choice, creation of a budget is something that is going to help you manage your money and make sure that you have a plan for your future.
Continue reading for some advice on the creation of your budget and how you’ll be able to stay on top of your money.
Clear Picture of Your Financial Situation
Before you can really get a good start on anything you need to know what your current financial situation is. You do this through the gathering of all of your bills, your bank account statements and any receipts and paycheck stubs.
Now that you have everything make out a list of all of your debts, the bills you owe monthly (rent/mortgage, utilities, car payments, etc…) as well as income, investments and savings. Along with that you’ll need to add up all of your other expenditures no matter how important you may or may not deem them.
You should look over all of the receipts that you gathered so you can make the determination on how much you’re spending on your groceries, clothes, entertainment, gas and any other regular purchase regardless of how trivial you might deem them.
Financial Software
Utilize some financial software, like that of MS Money or Quicken in order to track all of your finances. Almost all computers are going to come with some free financial software preinstalled on them so you’re not going to have to spend anything to get this tool. You can also use Excel which comes standard with a Microsoft Office package. You can also find a free version of Microsoft Office called Open Office through the following link. Open Office will give you the same tools as Microsoft Office it’s just a free version of something that is called open source.
Estimate Expenses
You’ll now need to estimate your monthly expenses, like your utilities and others. Make sure that you enlist the budget billing options through your utility company and if you make long distance phone calls and don’t have free long distance take advantage of a free long distance plan. Look at all of your other things too as there are so many different places where you can save some money but most don’t because either:
• They aren’t aware they are there
• They are just too lazy
Do the Math
Add up all of your monthly income and all of your monthly payments. Take your payments away from your income and you’ll see what’s left. If there is nothing left or you’re going into the negative it means you’re probably using credit cards.
Rather than continuing to run yourself into debt you need to look at the places where you can make cuts so you can meet all of your obligations and still purchase all of your needs without going into debt. Pay your essentials first, cut the fat where you can and after those you can put your mind towards a debt repayment schedule.
Wasteful Spending
Now it’s time to take a look at all of the wasteful spending you were to think about above. If you’re going to have any kind of financial success you have to figure out where you can cut even if it means making some small sacrifices.
Think about some things:
• How often are you eating out each week?
• Are you packing a lunch for work or getting something every day?
• How much money are you putting into the vending machines?
• Do you go shopping just to go shopping or do you go shopping when you need things?
All of these and more are prime examples of wasteful spending. They are also things that can be cut. Go shopping when you need to only and maybe just splurge only every once in awhile. Instead of eating out every day take your lunch and if you don’t want to take your lunch every day just do it the majority of the week and the savings will still add up. Get some snacks at the store and bring them with you so you’re not paying excessive rates at the vending machines. Just small changes little by little will add up and save you so much money you’ll be so surprised at:
• How much you’re saving
• How much money you were wasting
Payment Arrangements
For any debt that you have make some payment arrangements and stop using your credit cards. If you’re charging and can’t pay the balance every month than you’re charging too much and need to stop putting yourself into such a difficult position. If you feel that you “have” to keep one for emergency purchases “only” do yourself a favor and freeze it into a block of ice so it’s not so easy to get to.
For your other debt like student loans, car loan or other you can always look into options like refinancing or inquire about payment adjustments in order to pay your loan and make your budget. If you can’t afford it they really want to keep you in your car and earn money off of you so you’ll be surprised at how eager creditors are willing to help and work with you. With that said though, you might not always succeed but you will more often than not, so don’t just not ask.
Manage Your Money
You should be working to manage your money in accordance with how often you’re getting paid. Take that and focus your debts on your pay and then set aside the money that you need for that period. Keep doing this and make sure it’s the first thing you’re doing when you’re getting paid. You’ll find by doing this you’re not going to be so frazzled and panicked. Budgeting when you’re not used to doing it and especially if you’ve been like this for a long time isn’t easy, make it a habit.
Word of Advice
Make sure that you’re avoiding putting yourself into bad financial positions and taking on more debt than you’re able to afford. Doing something like this only will add a lot of unnecessary stress and heartache to your life and is going to keep you from achieving the goals that you have set for yourself in life like purchasing a home, being able to do traveling, saving for something special, saving for your retirement.
Avoid these mistakes and enlist this advice and you’ll be well on your way to making your budget and realizing your financial dreams.