Get Debt Free By Getting In Control of Your Budget

What is a Budget?

A budget is a plan. It is a plan for what you will do with each and every dollar that comes into your household. Without a budget, you have no way of knowing where your money goes, what percentages are spent on what, and, more important, how much you can truly save for the future. Furthermore, without a budget, people tend to spend everything they take in, leaving no cushion for emergencies or great bargains should they come along.

The First Important Debt Relief Step

If you don’t know where your money goes, you cannot develop a budget. The first step, then, is to spend one month writing down every expenditure no cheating and you must do this religiously every day. This activity usually surprises everyone who does it. Who would have thought how much could be spent on morning lattes or a sandwich at the local deli every day? Impulse buying accounts for an amazing amount of the budgets of some families, as do satisfying what we call vices and luxuries.

How to Stop the Bleeding of Money

Once an individual has a complete listing of monthly expenditures, he/she is ready for the next step. This involves the dividing all of these expenditures into three columns. The first is title necessities. These are such things as rent/mortgage payment, utilities, food, medical and hygiene costs, charge card and other bill payments(you don’t want to be late on these!), and automobile expenses(gas, insurance, upkeep, etc). The second column includes those things that are not necessities but which are important to individual or family well-being. Perhaps a child is involved in a sport which involves some expense each month. A parent may belong to a health club or other group which has some sort of dues. There are some leisure-type activities which keep people fit, active and emotionally more stable. The third column involves those expenditures which are truly unnecessary. These would include such things as jewelry, that morning latte, gambling, frequent meals out with friends, shopping for the love of buying, etc. Lastly, speak with a certified non-profit debt consolidation company.

Cut The Un-Necessary

If one really wants to have a ‘cushion’ and/or save for the future, then the items in the third column need to be cut. The goal should be to save about 5% of one’s monthly income, and that is a minimum. If your column of un-necessaries constitutes 5%, cutting will be easy. If it involves items from the 2nd column, some thinking and discussion must occur before eliminating these.

Be Committed To Becoming Debt Free

Once you have established a budget, stick to it. It is the only way to get the bills paid, save for emergencies and the future, and maintain a sound credit rating.