Never Mess With Family Budget
"A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went."- Dave Ramsey
Have you ever wondered, despite having a good income you are short of meeting some expenses at the end of the month or are unable to cater to a sudden contingency like repair & maintenance or a health emergency?
No worries, it happens in every household. The best way to handle any financial surprises is to stay prepared. Planning a Budget is the first and foremost step toward it.
A household budget is a plan for all your house income and expenses. It helps keep track of where your money comes from and where it goes.
Here’s a simple way to create your household budget.
Make an excel Sheet and list out all your sources of income. Enter the amount against each of these to arrive at your monthly household income. Examples of sources of income could be:
📌 Salary & Pension
📌 Profit from the business
📌 Rental Income
📌 Agricultural/Income from an estate
📌Any other income
On the other side, write down all types of expenses item-wise, such as:
📌House Rent
📌Vegetables & Groceries
📌Electricity
📌Cooking Gas
📌Newspaper, Magazine
📌Internet- Broadband/wifi, Mobile Data
📌Children’s School/College fee
📌Maid/Driver’s salary
📌TV Cable, OTT Rentals
📌Insurance Premium
📌EMIs
📌Petrol
📌Medicines
📌Cosmetics
📌Clothing, Accessories
📌Credit Card payment
Now, total both sides and check the status.
If your expenses are within your income, and you have leftover income for Saving & Investment, you are on the right track.
If they are equal, you need to work on either increasing your income or controlling expenses.
Take it as a danger signal if your expenses are over and above the income. That means you are living on borrowings which is not a healthy financial status. Work on the expenses and find out ways to control and arrest the unnecessary costs immediately.
I hope this budgeting exercise throws some light on your household’s financial status. This should be an ongoing process to maintain a happy & healthy financial life.
She Writer Sandhya Naren is a Branch Manager of a Public Sector Bank, and also a Writer, Storyteller, and Women-Coach in Personal Finance.
She’s the Co-founder of Manasa Learning Solutions, a LifeSkills Training Academy that conducts training on finance. Link to Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070032588063. Email: [email protected]
