Budgeting Made Easy: Build a Stable Financial House

A good budget provides a framework for financial stability and success. You build a stable money management structure that allows you to reach your financial goals. All of your monthly expenses should fit somewhere into that structure so you can avoid taking on high interest rate credit card debt for things that should be covered by cash.

Here’s a quick look at how a balanced budget works.

Building a budget starts by laying the foundation and adding up your total monthly income. Expenses should be separated between one of three levels – fixed, flexible and discretionary.

The first level is where all your needs with a fixed cost live. That’s any need with a cost that stays the same every month. The next level is where needs with no fixed cost live. In other words, things you can’t live without but the cost can vary from month to month. The final level is where your wants live. You know, the things that aren’t necessary but make life fun.

Credit card debt payments can live in one of two places in your budget, depending upon how much debt you have. If you have low balances and pay off what you charge at the end of every month then credit card payments live with those other flexible expenses. However, if you have large debts to pay off make big payments every month until you’ve paid it off in full.

Discretionary expenses are where all the fun and frills live in your budget. And this is where you should start if you need to make cuts to scale back. Savings often gets treated like a discretionary expense and shoved in with the rest of your wants, which means it can get lost in the mix or cut entirely. But really, savings should move in with your fixed expenses. Decide how much you can save each month and make that a set cost in your budget that you pay to yourself every month.

Once you’ve constructed a budget, you have to maintain it to make sure it stands up over time. Every few months compare your actual spending to what you planned to spend. This will make sure you’re keeping everything within the structure you set. This ensures that your financial house can hold all of your monthly expenses so credit cards don’t have to cover what’s been left out.

If you see you’re overspending consistently somewhere you may need to work on your budget again to make sure it’s not too bloated to fit the foundation. In some cases this may mean you have to cut something to make room. Eliminating debt or adding income will give you the ability to add these expenses back once you have room to fit them in.