Go through a previous month of transactions and
figure out all the different areas in which you
are spending your money. Create a budget
template (click
here) that works for you in order to track
your spending in each area over the upcoming month.
Set priorities. You need to write your goals down
in order to commit to them.
Look at your net income each month and balance it
against your priorities.
Set a maximum amount for
what you can spend in each area.
Track all of your expenses over the month. If you
pay for something in cash keep the receipt. You should
update your budget template each week so that you can
adjust accordingly if you have overspent in a particular
area.
Re-evaluate at the end of the
month.
What works?
What doesn’t?
Tip: Anyone can write a
budget.
The problem always lies in why you can’t stick
to the budget.
You need to figure out what you are doing wrong, and
often this involves looking beyond the money.
You may need to make additional lifestyle changes
in
order to meet your goals.
Sometimes the way we deal with
money mimics the way we deal with other things in our
life.
For example:
it might be general disorganization
procrastination that needs to be overcome.
Once you
deal with the route problem, your money
matters should
fall into place as well.
