how do you set up a budget?

Answer 1

Start first by taking all the bills you have out there....and I mean all bills, even things that you only pay annually like a tax bill. Get them in a list so you can see what the bill is, the amount of the bill, and the frequency of payment (i.e. monthly, quarterly, anually etc).

I have found it easier to go by paycheck. So let's say you get paid weekly...take you bills and break the payments down to a weekly amount (a monthly bill of $40 would be $10 a week as an example) Add up all the weekly amounts you get for your bills and that makes up how much out of each paycheck you need to go toward your bills.

Now you will know how much out of each paycheck you have for gas and other various miscellaneous stuff.

If you find that the amount you come up with exceeds your income, start looking at what bills can be trimmed down...maybe get the smaller cable TV package and save a few bucks a month? Or cut out that coffee at Dunkin Donuts each morning adn start brewing your own? These are just examples of course but I was giving you some ideas about how to lower your bills.

Good luck!

Answer 2

The best budget I have ever used is by Dave Ramsey.

He has the forms on his website: www.daveramsey.com

I took his form and put it into Excel so the computer would do the adding and subtracting. His budget is based on "zero balance," meaning before the start of every month you sit down and do your budget and and the end you need to have zero. So after you "pay" all your bills on the paper budget and you have money left over, you need to decide where it goes, savings for emergency, savings for car insurance, taxes, upcoming gift giving, etc.

You do it each month because if you get paid every other week, there are some months I have 3 pay checks. Some months the trash bill is due and some months the car insurance is due, etc. If you are on commission based (or irregular income, laid off during the winter because you are a landscaper, etc), he has a budget for you too.

Great useful budget, we have been using it for a year and has cut down on our financial arguing. We both know what page we are on for finances.

Answer 3

Take a small pocket size note pad... jot down every cent u spend over a course of four weeks. Put them into a list of food, entertainment, utilities, insurance, medical, junk(throwing away $) , then add up all income, gifts. If u take income, minus expenses any leftovers can be positve cash (saving, IRA etc) but any negative cash ( OVER SPENDING CAUSING DEBT).

If ur in negative reduce the junk spending and entertainment. Even if u have extra money left over... start investing in yourself for the long term. Keeping credit cards to minimal amounts.

Depending on your age- the way u budget varies... Oprah website had three great financial consultants to not only help u budget but start paying yourself while getting out of debt. Love David Bach Latte Factor... forms at Oprah... she has the entire tape series for sale to help u along...

Budgeting for a college student is different than for a couple who are in their fifties. If your young please take the time to learn about money. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties


Your local libaries may have materials and videos to view. Mastercard had a video "Master Your Future- A program on Financial Responsibility 2nd Edition" which is design for teenagers and college students.

Answer 4

Why use a budget? People who became great savers and are successful do not use budgets. Rather, they increase their income or reduce their spending as needed. Far better to reduce your expenses in key categories like cars and insurance than try to budget your expenditures. Consumer reports rates Honda Civic, Toyota Corrola and Ford Escort, as among the most reliable used cars. To save huge amounts of money, you should buy one of these well used with cash by finding the value on the web site of Blue Book and shop for one until you find one priced below Book value. Then offer the seller less and buy a bargain. Then you have a low cost car that has few repairs. And your insurance is for only liablity. This approach can save you thousands. I do this with my four cars in my family and pay very little and I put away large amounts of money in savings--I don't use a budget. I also look for ways to increase my income. I am writing a book that should increase my family's income and I am increasing my income in other areas beyond my day job. Find ways you can serve others with your skills or learn new skills and increase your income.

Answer 5

i am a business student, this one is easy.
Simply add up all the money that you spend on stuff each week.
ex. food, clothes, enertainment, etc.
that totals your expenses.
subtract that from the amount of money that you make each week.
the left over amount is your revenue.
put what is left into an account. Savings/Checking
every week do the same thing, and by 10-15 years you should have a good amount of money in your account. (depending on your paycheck and your expenses.) To keep your expenses low and your revenue high, only buy what you NEED. but with the money you save in your account, you can buy something nice that you want once a month.

Answer 6

Track every expense for 3 months.
At the end of 3 months divide each category (food, gas, entertainmnet, savings, investments, bills, etc) by 3.
The answer you receive is your monthly budget for each category.

Answer 7

Excel spreadsheet

Answer 8

dont know