ORGANIZING A BUDGET

I found in the Latter-Day Saint Women Manual a sample budget form that could be adapted for all budgets regardless of religion.Using the following form will help in organizing monthly spending.

In my opinion, this would be helpful in a month-to-month budget. It is a perfect way to make sure that all basic needs are met.

I was once told that another good budget would be the following:

This may not be feasible at this time for most budgets, but it could be a goal for future spending.

The Latter-Day Saint Women Manual also listed a debt elimination calendar. I have found this method to be affected in my own experiences. Here is an example:

Some people keep track of their expenses in their checkbook, but with the advance of credit and debit cards, checkbooks are becoming a thing of the past. I keep track of my expenses in an excel spreadsheet. There I can be as detailed as I want and with the formulas there are little mistakes. It is also easy to go online and check my spreadsheet against my bank account. The best part is that I can email my spreadsheet at the end of the year to my tax specialist. A basic set up may look something like this:

In my own spreadsheet, I make each section (Checking, Savings, etc.) a separate tab.

Remember, when paying for things online it is a smart idea to keep track of any confirmation numbers, tracking ids, or reference ids that are given to represent your payment!

Another smart habit to get in is paying your credit card completely off every month. This will protect you from the high interest cost.

I challenge everyone to make and stick to a budget this month! Being smart and prepared will protect from the dangers of debt and interest! Good luck all!