How do you create your family budget?
What do you do, and when do you do it?
It's good to reflect on family finances regularly creating a savings/spending plan that can help you to reach your goals.
For most people, this doesn't have to be an elaborate process since I believe that most people's finances are quite simple including what they make, what they owe, regular payments they have to make, and goals that they seek to meet.
As I think about this, I am cognizant of typical family payments such as insurance, mortgage payments, communication costs, and regular needs such as food. I am also thinking about our family goals such as family gatherings, a vacation, and college educations.
So if you're thinking about this, I suggest you do the following. First, figure out what your income is altogether. Then figure out what your regular bills and what you owe add up to. See if there's a way that you can reduce the typical payments. For example do you need a land line and cell phone too? Are you spending too much on transportation? Can you reduce food costs?
Next figure out a monthly budget that helps you to pay your bills, pay off money you owe, and save for your future goals. As part of that monthly budget put away money into a 403B or 401K or other retirement like investment--you hardly notice this investment on your weekly paycheck, and the money will come in handy when you're older and less able to work for a living.
And, if you find that you have more time than money, you may need to think about getting a second job or working towards improving your current career. It's helpful to take a 10-year-view in this regard as often what seems impossible or onerous in a day-to-day view becomes realistic when you look out 10 years.
Further, think about what's important. For example, big, fancy vacations for the under ten-year-old crowd are not that important. For children that age, the best life events can be events close to home such as nightly reading, joining a local sports team, nearby adventures, visiting local museums and more. These are years that you can take advantage of lots of freebies and low cost local recreational opportunities which allows you to save extra dollars for more important investments and events when your children are older.
Good planning and prep often spells savings too--when you plan ahead you can typically take advantage of low cost flights, hotel rooms, and tickets to important places and events.
This is a good time of year to look seriously at your budget and plan a budget that supports quality day-to-day living as well as reaching your future goals too. Onward.
What do you do, and when do you do it?
It's good to reflect on family finances regularly creating a savings/spending plan that can help you to reach your goals.
For most people, this doesn't have to be an elaborate process since I believe that most people's finances are quite simple including what they make, what they owe, regular payments they have to make, and goals that they seek to meet.
As I think about this, I am cognizant of typical family payments such as insurance, mortgage payments, communication costs, and regular needs such as food. I am also thinking about our family goals such as family gatherings, a vacation, and college educations.
So if you're thinking about this, I suggest you do the following. First, figure out what your income is altogether. Then figure out what your regular bills and what you owe add up to. See if there's a way that you can reduce the typical payments. For example do you need a land line and cell phone too? Are you spending too much on transportation? Can you reduce food costs?
Next figure out a monthly budget that helps you to pay your bills, pay off money you owe, and save for your future goals. As part of that monthly budget put away money into a 403B or 401K or other retirement like investment--you hardly notice this investment on your weekly paycheck, and the money will come in handy when you're older and less able to work for a living.
And, if you find that you have more time than money, you may need to think about getting a second job or working towards improving your current career. It's helpful to take a 10-year-view in this regard as often what seems impossible or onerous in a day-to-day view becomes realistic when you look out 10 years.
Further, think about what's important. For example, big, fancy vacations for the under ten-year-old crowd are not that important. For children that age, the best life events can be events close to home such as nightly reading, joining a local sports team, nearby adventures, visiting local museums and more. These are years that you can take advantage of lots of freebies and low cost local recreational opportunities which allows you to save extra dollars for more important investments and events when your children are older.
Good planning and prep often spells savings too--when you plan ahead you can typically take advantage of low cost flights, hotel rooms, and tickets to important places and events.
This is a good time of year to look seriously at your budget and plan a budget that supports quality day-to-day living as well as reaching your future goals too. Onward.