When I first started budgeting, I was just out of University and in my first full time job, I would typically use a budget planner that was online available from one of the big banks. I had this suggested to me and its something that became my ‘go to’…
Whilst it did do a good job I still could never understand why I wasn’t actually saving money, and paying off debts.
After many years of doing this I eventually figured it out, I wasn’t actually writing down ALL of my expenses. By not writing all of my expenses down I wasn’t actually having a realistic budget, I was having a half a budget.
So, once I finally realised I had to write down every little thing that I spend my money on and allocate under the different sections I then have a Realistic budget that I can use to make realistic decisions about my financial situation.
No matter the amount of the expense, it has to be allocated in the budget. You might have a direct debt that is only a couple dollars a week that might come out for something, however if you don’t put that in, it won’t give you an accurate picture of finances.
This is a great quote that sums it up for me!
Now just like in the last element of Using Real Figures in your Budget its crucial when creating your budget that you use the REAL expenses that you have, on the last. To find out all the details where to find your real expenses read the last blog HERE.
My guide to help you get all of your expenses is to go through the below items and put them into these categories.
- Home
- Utilities
- Food
- Transportation
- Personal
- Insurance
- Medical
- Fun
- Gambling
- Bank / Financial Institution
- Investment Property
- Pets
- Giving
- Holidays
- Debt Repayment
- Saving
The more detail and time you spend on it, the more of the rewards you will reap with it. Good luck with it. If you want my FREE Downloadable Simple Budget Planner CLICK HERE.
Next Blog Post is all about element 3…Zero Balance Budget