Why Do You Need a Household Budget?
Advantages of preparing your monthly budget
Budgeting is properly allocating your resources, specially money. It helps you achieve your goals and helps you to find multiple ways to do things and end of the day saves you money.
All of us can do a monthly budget. It is very easy as we have to track all the necessary and anticipated expenses and preplan based on our income. It is very beneficial as we can avoid unnecessary debts and bring the overspending habits under control.
Below are the main advantages of budgeting your money on a monthly basis;
- As I said above, a monthly budget make you the in-charge as you can control over many unnecessary expenses and reallocate the saved money on necessities. You can get rid of overspending habit and a little change such as reviewing your monthly cable bill, your cellphone plan or time when and how many lights should be on, how much heat is needed, using an adjustable thermostat for your home heat, can save you hundreds of dollars in a year.
- You can set your goals and reach them easily. Budgeting helps you to predetermine your expenses and arrange for them accordingly.
- You can save for rainy days. I mean you can secure some funds for emergency. I suggest to allocate at least 1 to 3% of the earnings towards the emergency funds. If you used it, fine, otherwise It can be the retirement helper later.
- You can start easy life as it can help you get rid of unnecessary expenses and encourage you for savings. So it relieves your stress as you know your expenses and aware about the bills coming into your mailbox.
- Very helpful for you to understand where your hard earned money is going. On which activity of life you are spending the most money. Is it your house, vacationing or dinning out or on donuts?
- Very easy for you to decide if you need a line of credit or loan or you can survive without them.
- Finally you end up saving a lot by ignoring unnecessary expenses such as 5 extra channels in your cable plan, extra features in your cell phone plan, late payment charges interest and penalties.
- Funny one! You avoid unnecessary conflicts in the family due to undue stress of mismanaged household expenses.
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Yes, I know it is hard and you have to give some time to do it but if you see the cost to benefit of a household budget, the benefits are heavier than the cost to do it.
Below is the link to very good household budget templates from microsoft office site, you can save one suits you'
https://templates.office.com/en-us/Family-Budget-Planner-TM10188408
Yes, a budget is totally awesome. Sadly, many don't know how to budget. Or don't care. Really glad you gave links to budget templates to help others. Awesome Sauce!
Thank you very much @lexikon082 for your feedback. Yes those excel templates are good starting point towards doing a monthly budget.
I have in the past. It is so beneficial, especially to see where you can cut costs and where you can save money. This is especially beneficial when you have something specific to save for...for example an expensive $1,000 dollar dress (just an example...never bought such an expensive dress! LOL). If you cut costs and have more money to save you get to your goal quicker! :)
Exactly @sgnsteems. With budgeting it become easy to achieve the goals big or small. Need to know where we spend without any consideration and budgeting helps us right there.
I had seen my mother make a monthly budget when my father worked abroad and it do helped us with our finances so we didn't face any shortages.
Hey @cryptopie, you have a perfect example of benefiting from household budget. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
I have gone back and forth between doing and not. Once the kids came along I found myself with so little time that I don't...and I so need to! The best I ever was at it was when I did the Financial Peace program by Dave Ramsey. That's the one I need to get back to!
Yes @thesimplelife its always good to do the monthly budget but once we have kids there are lot more to do for their care but that make it even more important keep the track of expenses.
That's a very good point! Thanks for reminding me of the importance of making better plans! It's my goal to begin doing that this month.
Your feedback is very valuable for me @thesimplelife. I wish you best of luck here at steemit and everywhere else in life :))
Thank you so much! I wish you the same!
You are very welcome @thesimplelife :))
Yes, I prepare a budget. This way I know exactly how little I have left...lol!
Lo that is too funny @giantbear!
Ha hahaa.. Or sometime left nothing in my case!! LOL..