BEST WAY TO TRACK YOUR BUDGET
Many people live a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle, and while they all do not wish to live that way, they find it difficult not to.
They may have tried different methods to get out of this fix without any success, which is exactly why this one budgeting system is so amazing! Using this system can get you out of debt and also escape that paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.
Setting a budget is easy.
Tracking and sticking by that budget are the difficult bits.
At the beginning of your budget lifestyle, you can use pen and paper, but over time, switching to a tracking program is an excellent idea if you want more efficiency.
Regardless of which method you choose, it is possible for you to fall back to old habits and abandon it so, the best thing for you is to stick to a method that you know you will use.
Whether a paper budget or a computer app or software program, the goal is to have an efficient budgeting system. The convenience of using a program for budgeting is what we love, and that is why we recommend getting one to make things easier for you.
If you are living paycheck to paycheck, our recommendation is to use Calendar Budget!
If you are a planner you are going to LOVE this!
It does have a small monthly charge which is $3.99 per month and will more than pay for itself when you see how you can save for
By living paycheck to paycheck, not having a $1000 emergency fund saved anywhere, and if anything happens, you have no cushion to fall back on – all because of poor planning.
For an efficient budget, you have to know when you get paid and when you need to spend money, and this is not limited to just your bills.
You need to know the times that you have to go on trips and vacations, buy a present for a loved one, or when you need to buy your Christmas tree.
Your specific expenses are important, and with Calendar Budget, you can put all those dates on a Calendar plan for them accordingly.
No more suprises!
How to Manage Your Budget Using Calendar Budget
Sign Up
Create an account and put it in a starting balance. Your starting balance should be whatever you have in your account presently. Set your “Start Right Now” date, and if you have some pending expenses that you are supposed to deduct from your current available balance, make sure you include them. So, if you have $30 marked for groceries and another $30 marked for your clothes, you will need to deduct $60 from your total bank balance. Therefore, in Calendar Budget, your starting balance will be your total bank balance, but your budget should cover those pending expenses too.
Create your Budget Categories
Your budget categories are simply the things you spend money on. Create the categories and allocate costs to them appropriately.
Input Your Monthly Bills
Enter the due dates for each of your monthly bills. Identify your projected expenses and enter them into your budget so that when the expenses come, you will not be caught off-guard, and they will be cleared off for that month.
Input Your Income
Note your pay dates on the Calendar and enter your income too.
Assign Dates to Your Budget Categories
For your budget categories that take the highest amount of money, assign them to dates when you will have enough money to cover them. For your groceries, you can set a biweekly or weekly amount.
Set Up Your Recurring Expenses
There are some bills that you have to pay monthly, which are unavoidable. Set the dates for these expenses so that you do not need to start from scratch every month. Even if you have to make changes, you might only have to change the price a bit.
Update When You Start Spending
For every purchase you make, you should update it in your budget. You should try and make it an everyday thing even though on some days, you may not have anything to update. Just make sure you log on every day to keep tabs on your budget.
Budgeting works in a lot of ways, and it can help you afford those things that you never thought you could afford. You can set up automatic payments to settle your bills through your bank, but make sure you have enough money to sort out those payments, so you do not overdraw your account.
When paying off debts or living paycheck to paycheck, avoid using credit cards. With automatic payments, your bank sends you a check on specific dates of the month to sort out your bills. After setting the amount, your bank will do it every month, and it is up to you do adjust the costs of those bills that change monthly like your utilities.
In the “Report Tabs.” You can check how much you are spending per month so you can see what your spending habits look like.
With this tool, you can keep tabs on your expenses and never have to worry about those bills anymore since you have got them all covered.
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