Budgeting
Primary Areas of Interest
Budgeting is the process of creating a plan to spend your money. Creating a budget allows you to determine in advance whether you will have enough money to do anything you need or want to do.
Things to Know
Income
Gross Income: the amount of money you earn
Net Income: Gross income with taxes and withholdings deducted
Expenses
Expenses and Net Availability
A budget keeps track of and allots your earned money to your monthly and weekly expenses. First, you must identify and list your fixed and variable expenses
Fixed: Rent, car payments/insurance, rent/renters insurance, health insurance, internet and cell phone bills
Variable: Food, utilities, entertainment, clothing, gasoline
Unexpected (also variable): Ruined pants, car repair, medical expense, broken computer
Second, you must identify your net available money by subtracting your total predicted expenses from your net income in order to know what you have left for any luxury or unnecessary items and to assure that you do not become indebted.
Net Available Money
Management
Once you have found the expected amount of money you will need for your basic needs then you can use what is left over for luxury, eating out, movie theaters, traveling, etc.
In order to keep track of what you have, people often use budgeting tools to simplify the process and cut down on miscalculations.
Things like budgeting apps and websites are designed to help people take control of their finances and with the variety available, everyone is able to find one that complements their lifestyles.
