Why Do I Need A Budget?by Chet Nowlen
Budgeting is a crucial part of financial planning. It helps you to make sure that you are on track to reach your financial goals and live within your means. By budgeting, you can keep track of your income and expenses, allocate funds to the right places, and build an emergency fund for unexpected costs.
In this article, we will provide some useful budgeting tips that can help you manage your finances more effectively. We will discuss expense categories, the importance of having an emergency fund, the “pay yourself first” strategy, and how to use the debt snowball method to eliminate debt faster.
To create a budget you should plan to save at least 10% of your income, which will help ensure that you don’t run into any financial emergencies. If you are saving more than 10% of your income, consider setting up an emergency fund with six months of expenses in it (this can be money saved from side hustles). The goal is to be able to focus on building wealth over the long term while still making progress towards other goals like buying a house or paying off debt.
Numerous experts in the field of personal finance recommend that it is wise to have a minimum of three streams of income to ensure financial security and stability. Having multiple sources of income can help to diversify your income, provide a buffer against unexpected circumstances, and increase the likelihood that you will have enough money when you need it.
Spending Categories - It is essential to allocate your expenses into different categories and subcategories. This will allow you to see where your money is going and make adjustments accordingly. By doing this, you can ensure that you are spending within your means and allocating money toward the right things.
Emergency Fund - An emergency fund is an important part of budgeting and financial planning. It is money that you save in case of unexpected expenses or income loss. Having an emergency fund can help you handle financial emergencies without having to resort to debt or other costly options. It can also give you peace of mind knowing that you have a safety net in case something happens. With careful budgeting and planning, setting aside money for an emergency fund can be easy and beneficial for your overall financial health.
Pay Yourself First Strategy - Paying yourself first is a budgeting strategy that encourages you to prioritize saving and investing for your financial future. This strategy is based on the idea of setting aside money from each paycheck to fund your retirement, savings, and other long-term goals. By putting yourself first in terms of financial planning, you can ensure that you are taking steps toward achieving your goals. The pay-yourself strategy helps you to create a budget that works for you and allows you to stay on track with your finances.
How To Use the Debt Snowball Method - Snowball your payments over time to make big savings. Start with your smallest debt first and work your way up to your biggest debt. Grow your balance over time to save more. Increase your monthly payments by at least 10% every six months.
Here's a tip: there are a wide variety of budgeting apps available, and I recommend starting with a free and simple one. Do your own research by researching budgeting apps on YouTube, and let me know which one works best for you.
Recommended Free Apps:
Mint by Intuit: https://mint.intuit.com/
EveryDollar by Dave Ramsey Solutions: Has both a free account and a paid account: https://www.ramseysolutions.com/ramseyplus/everydollar - The drawback to this particular free account is you cannot download information from your banks, credit cards, and investments. With this method, all your transactions would have to be entered manually.
With the paid version you get to try it free for 14 days, and then you can pay $12.99 per month, but the best plan is to pay the annual rate of $79.99 - that’s a saving of $6.32 per month.
