Budgetting :hello

[Guest]

The easiest way to set up a budget is to list your current regular
monthly expenses—rent/mortgage, utilities, phone, charge card etc. Then
list bills that come every other month or quarterly. Compare this to your take
home pay. Then look at what’s left and divide this between your other
discretionary expenses—groceries, gas, eating out. The discretionary
expenses are where you can make the most impact in your budget.

Then, track your current expenses for one month (or if you
use a debit card quite often, look through your checkbook register for the past
month). You may find that you’re spending more on groceries and eating
out than you realized.

When I went through this process, I realized that I was
spending over $600/month on groceries for my family of 6—and we were
spending about $200 on fast food per month. Also, my kids were eating lunch at
school—another expense that adds up quickly when 3 are in elementary
school! Since then, we have reduced our fast food purchases, and I’ve
reduced my grocery bill to around $400/month. I’ve been cooking more
meals—especially using my crock pot and making 2 casseroles on Sunday for
us to eat throughout the week. I make my menus out before going to the grocery
store so that I know what to get ahead of time—and I shop the sales.

Hope this helps.

Sherry

[Author]

Posts