It’s a new year and a lot of us are re-vamping (or starting) our budget.  Budgeting can be overwhelming if you don’t go into it with some kind of game plan.

When you sit down to make your budget, first decide why you’re making it.  Is it to get out of debt, go on a family vacation or simply to be a good steward of your money?  When you have a goal, you can refer back to it every time you consider purchasing something outside of your budget and remember that you’re saving for a higher purpose.

Monthly Expenses:

First, you need to have a realistic idea of what you spend each month by adding up all of your expenses.  Don’t forget to consider big expenses that may not happen on a monthly basis like car taxes, insurance payments, etc.

If you need some more help getting started on this part of budgeting, download Dave Ramsey’s FREE Guide to Budgeting.

Housing (Mortgage/Rent, taxes, insurance):
Grocery purchases:
Household purchases:
Medical:
Childcare:
Transportation (car, gas, insurance, tax):
Utilities:
Electric & Water:
Phone & Internet:
Cable & Entertainment:
Clothing:
Savings:
Charity:
Debt Payments not mentioned above:
Miscellaneous:

Total Spent:

 Budgeting isn’t easy.  It forces you to look at your needs vs. wants and maybe make some cuts in your lifestyle.  If you’re curious how much of your family’s income should go to what, here’s how much the gurus say you should dedicate to your expenses:

Charity: 10%
Housing: 30%
Utilities: 5-10%
Food & Household: 10%
Clothing: 2-7%
Transportation: 10%
Medical: 5-10%
Miscellaneous: 1-2%

That hopefully will leave 13-23% that can go into savings or paying off debt.

So, say you make $45,000 a year after taxes. That is $3,750 per month.

You budget would look like this: Read More→