Make A Monthly Budget ...

With 2010 fast approaching (too fast for my liking), now would be as good a time as any to sit down and get your budget together for the New Year. Why now? It takes on average 21 days to change/create a habit. So over the next few weeks you can grab all your financial stuff, ready to put on paper, add a sprinkle of reluctance/procrastination and you should have created the budget by December. Keep to your budget for December, then hopefully by the start of the News Years you will have formed a new habit of saving and keeping reins on your money! This is one New Years resolution you'll be able to keep. But you need to get a grip on it now.

I make it sound simple ... because it is. So where to start? Go grab a pen and paper, wage slips, bills, reciepts anything that will tell you where your money went for the last 10 months. Got them? Good. Now let's get going ...


1. Complete a yearly expenses list.


Include all known and anticipated expenses that you expect to see in 2010. This is going to stop you overlooking any bills, repairs, gifts, vacations etc. We are going to get them, before they get us! Add up these total expenses and divide by 12. You know have an amount you can save per month towards these.


2. Complete a monthly budget.

This will be your personal framework for telling your money where it belongs. Here is my budget that I created at Dave Ramseys, Total Money Makeover site:

Found this helpful? Check back soon for a post on matching incoming with outgoing! It'll help you avoid late fees, over-spending at the start of the month and make you feel in contol of the green stuff.