Years ago, the only way to create a Budget was to write it down on good old pen and paper. But, not anymore. There are a variety of ways for you to create your budget. There are quite a few apps that you can download on your computer or phone that will help you create and store your budget. Simply search ‘Budget’ in your app store and you’ll be presented with dozens of options. If you are a fan of spreadsheets, you can create your budget in an Excel doc and store it right on your computer. Or, if you are a fan of having a hard copy of your budget on-hand at all times, you can always use pen and paper. The choice is yours, and there is no wrong answer.

 I recommend you check out Personal Capital. Personal Capital is similar to Mint.com but much better. Personal Capital allows you to aggregate your financial accounts so that you can easily see your financial situation. You can connect accounts such as your mortgage, bank accounts, credit card accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, and more, and it’s FREE.

Budgeting is such a crucial component of financial success. Let’s first discuss why you need to create (and follow!) a budget:

1. It helps you become intentional about your relationship with money. Or, more importantly, it helps you develop a healthy relationship with money.
2. It allows you to determine your income to expense ratio. Are you spending more than you make?
3. It helps you to get a handle on your revolving debt. How much credit card debt do you have? What about loans? (Not So) Fun Fact: According to NerdWallet, the average household in the United States has $15,611 in credit card debt and the average student loan debt is $32,264. Yikes!
4. It helps you set financial goals. Unless you know exactly how much money you bring in and put out each month, it will be extremely difficult to plan for things like vacations, retirement, purchasing a home or car, or building up an emergency fund.
5.  It enables you to determine exactly what you are spending your money on. Don’t you want to know where your money is going? After all, you work hard for it.

Take a few minutes to sit down and think about these five points above. Wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly where your money was going each month? Or how about to actually be able to save for that vacation you’ve been dreaming of?

Stick with me and you’ll be the boss of your own Money in no time!

The key to successful budgeting is to always track your income and expenses. Be honest with yourself as to how much you are spending and what you are spending it on. Keep your receipts and make sure to document your purchases/expenditures so that you can create a realistic budget.

To help you get set up, here are some categories that you may want to have in your budget:

• Income- Where does your money come from? This can be a job, child support or other income
• Expenses
  • Mortgage/Rent

• Automobile Loan/Insurance/Repair/Gas

• Cable Bill

• Cell Phone Bill

• Utilities (Electric, Gas, Water, etc.)

• Health Insurance

• Entertainment/Fun

• Food

• Clothing

• Taxes

• Savings

One of the great things about budgets is that they are fluid. If you need to make changes, go right ahead and make changes. Add categories. Set new budget amounts. This budget is yours. Own it. 

So far, we have covered the importance of creating a budget, as well as how to actually create it.

Let’s talk about actually sticking to the budget. About taking that document and putting it to work for you. Here are some tips that can help you keep your eye on the prize and adhere to your budget

Get Clear

When just beginning to budget, it’s important to get clear about your financial goals. Maybe you’d like to prepare for retirement, or perhaps go on that cruise you’ve always dreamed of? One great way to set your intentions is to create a vision board. Vision boards help you bring your dreams to life and give you a material representation of your goals/dreams/plans. You can find lots of vision example boards on Pinterest.

Birds of a Feather

Would you believe me if I told you that who you socialize with could have an impact (positive or negative) on your budget? Well, it absolutely can! It’s highly likely that you will adapt the spending habits of those you are around the most. Do most of your friends spend money on frivolous things? That increases the chances that you will too. Are you friends thrifty and spend money cautiously? If so, it’s likely that you will too.

Become Financially Aware

There is so much to learn about finances, and most of that can be discovered by watching finance related television shows, or reading financial news and/or blogs online. This news can help you adjust your budget to Account for upcoming financial trends. Perhaps the price of gas is expected to soar, or the price of milk is going to triple. The only way to know is to pay attention to financial media.

Break Down Your Goals

Rome wasn’t built in a day. It may take some time to reach your goals. Take baby steps and break down your goals into manageable pieces, like setting a monthly savings goal, for example.

Track Your Progress

Making some progress? Track it! What went well that month that allowed you to move closer to your goals? Create a visual representation of your progress. You can even add it to your vision board! I recommend you check out Personal Capital. Personal Capital is similar to Mint.com, but much better. Personal Capital allows you to aggregate your financial accounts so that you can easily see your financial situation. You can connect accounts such as your mortgage, bank accounts, credit card accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, and more, and it’s FREE.

Keep Your Eye On The Prize

Always keep your end goal at the forefront of your mind. This will help you keep you focus and working towards your goals. It can be hard to do; but a way you can do that is by visualizing how your life will be once your debt is paid off or your retirement is fully funded!

Have Fun

Just because you are on a budget doesn’t mean that you have to throw all of the fun out the window! Make sure to include a little money in your budget for fun and entertainment, but also take advantage of free entertainment. Invite your friends over for game night, go for a hike, spend some time at the beach. Do what you love, just make sure to keep your budget in mind.

Budgeting doesn’t have to be boring. It can be – dare I say – FUN!

I love to get creative with budgeting so that it doesn’t become mundane. Make a game out of predicting your income vs. expenses each month. Reward yourself for hitting your monthly goals! Here are a few more ways to put the FUN in budgeting:

Vision Boards

Think about your end goal. Whether it’s sipping a delicious drink by the ocean or enjoying an early retirement, create a vision board to remind you each and every what you are working towards. Use it to motivate you. To pump you up!

Unite with Friends

You’ve probably never asked them, but I’d bet that your friends are budgeting too. Create a budgeting challenge for them. Encourage one another along the way. Celebrate even the smallest of achievements with them. Use them to motivate you to keep on keepin’ on.

Create Challenges

One of the things that I love to do is to create challenges for myself. Go into a store with only $10 and create a delicious meal for the whole family by only spending that $10. You’ll be surprised at all of the yummy ideas you come up with. Declare a ‘No Spend Weekend’. Challenge yourself to have the best weekend ever- without spending a dime! Some of my most fun and memorable weekends have been during a No Spend Weekend! There are so many awesome things to do that don’t cost anything at all. Do a Google search for ‘Things to do for free’ in your city to get some ideas.

All of these things listed above can not only help you have fun while budgeting, but they will ultimately help you to save money. If you are looking for even more ways to save money, consider these:

• Start a blog– As I mentioned in yesterday’s email, blogs can be a great source of extra income!
• Take online surveys
  • Pinecone Research (Potentially earn at least $3 per survey)
  • EarningStation ($10 bonus after 5 site sign-ups)
  • Pinecone Research (Potentially earn at least $3 per survey)
  • Survey Club (Potentially earn at least $50 per survey)
  • OneOpinion (Earn cash/gift cards)
• Get cash back online
  • Check out Ibotta, Ebates and Swagbucks

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