subject: Unusual Budgeting Tips To Help You [print this page] When people are bored, they go spend money; eat out, go shopping, go to movies, etc. Make sure you have enough well-defined categories to capture your true spending. Putting too much into a miscellaneous category makes it harder to track what you have spent and harder to control, especially the splurges.
If you did not know you need it, you probably do not. Do not buy things just because they are on sale. When forecasting your expenses, remember to include gift-giving occasions. Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, birthdays, Christmas, and anniversaries are good examples.
If you plan to spend money on these occasions, remember to include this in your budget. Do not take out a consolidation loan to pay off your other debts. The point is to get out of it, not to squeeze them together and end up paying interest on the loan while paying off your debts.
Try consulting a "free" debt counselor service first. We have all heard "time is money." Well-spent time can be an investment. Take a few minutes to plan ways to save on bills - 15 or 20 min. researching lower rates on electricity or long distance can pay off. You will know when time spent is not worth it.
The envelope system is a great way to budget. Total yearly/monthly bills, divide each into 12 months. Divide monthly amount into bi-weekly payments. Use envelope for each bill; put in cash every 2 weeks. Use only the cash in envelope till it is gone. Do not touch your account/debt card.
You can go to a dental school to have your teeth cleaned, filled, orthodontic work done, etc. The cost is approximately half what you would usually pay. Note: Make sure you have some extra time as this takes a little longer.
Avoid friends who want to go for drinks all the time or suggest an evening at home. The money you spend on drinks and snacks, can buy something better, or go into your savings account. Also avoid friends who want to have supper at your house because you are a "good cook" what that really means is that they are saving money while you are grocery shopping.
Make sure to rotate who hosts dinner. When you don't keep track on paper of where your money is going, you don't end up knowing how much you have left. Keeping a check register at home, if you don't want to carry one with you is a great idea.
Often people get into trouble when they try to keep a running total of what they have left in their head and then they make many mistakes. Establishing a budget, and periodically entering all of your purchases into money managing software, should take the guesswork out of your finances.
At the beginning, minor changes will most likely need to be made to your budget. Once you have a finalized budget, one person should be responsible for maintaining the budget and tracking finances. If you sit down once a month and go over your expenses and income, you can adequately plan ahead for things.
With bills happening throughout the month, people can find themselves poor one part of the month, and rich during the other. Sometimes you can call your creditors and find out if you can change your due dates so you can spread your payments between your checks.
This way, you can even things out and have about the same amount of money with each check. Some of these tips are a bit unorthodox, but people spend money all over the place without realizing it and in ways they just don't think about.
Once you get into the habit, you will find you have more control and more peace.
