How to create a frugal budget

March 26, 2014 by www.about.com

   

 

A well-planned budget can help you to achieve your frugal goals. Learn how to create your own frugal budget.

 Here is how:

Assess your monthly expenses

Make a list of all of your regular monthly expenses, including any money that you spend on fun things like eating out, entertainment and hobbies; and any minimum payments that you have to make towards your debts. You can use a budget form for this purpose if it makes the job easier.

 Total your earnings

Calculate how much you make per month, including any money that you receive from investments and other forms of residual income.

 Subtract expenses from earnings

Test out the effectiveness of your budget by subtracting your monthly expenses from your earnings. This will show you how much you can expect to have left at the end of the month.

 Rework your budget

If your budget comes out on the negative side, rework it until your numbers correspond. To do this, go back over each expense, and look for places to make cuts.

 Build in money for debt reduction

If you have debts, your budget should already include the minimum payments that you have to make each month. Now you need to find the money to pay down those debts. Look at your numbers again, and determine where you are willing to make sacrifices to get out of debt.

 Build in your savings and investments

Now it is time to budget money for your financial goals. Do you want to have an emergency fund, retirement investments or vacation savings? Make a list of what you hope to achieve, and then survey your budget once more to find the money that you need to reach those goals. If you have a lot of debt, you may need to skip this step for a while, and that is okay – debt reduction should be priority one.

 Put your budget to work

Once you have created a budget that covers all of your monthly expenses and financial goals, it is time to put your budget to the test. Try to live within your budget, and see how it feels.

 Assess your budget

At the end of each month, look over your expenditures to see if they are match up to your budget. If they are not, determine if you need to work harder to stick to your spending plan; or if you need to rework your budget to reflect your actual spending.

 Assess and assess again

A frugal budget is never finished. Continue to look over your budget every month to catch areas of overspending. Then, crunch the numbers again until you have made it right.

Be honest about your spending habits, and you will end up with a much more realistic budget. Do not forget to budget for fun; budgeting is not about total deprivation. Also, do not be afraid to change your budget; a good budget is always evolving.

The materials you need are: A copy of your bills, a calculator, pen or pencil and paper