Financiers, accountants, and bankers find it easiest to understand the taxation system, deductions for credit debts, and calculate the balance sheet at work and home. But what to do if the skills of a professional financier are absent, and in your budget increasingly appear “holes” from which “leak” your savings? Do not despair. It is better to revise the methods of home accounting, and it does not require super-knowledge and higher education.
It is easy to accumulate money by keeping records manually or using a more modern method – an automated and convenient budget app. Install on your phone a program that will help you control all significant spending.
It would seem that everything is simple at the level of intuition. Yes, it is. It remains to learn a certain degree of self-control. It is worth paying particular attention to the accounting of small expenses. Significant expenses are not difficult to remember. But small ones, most likely, you will forget often. At the end of the month, the small things make up the very 10-30% that leak through the “holes” of your pockets.
Methods of planning expenses taking into account profit and obligatory deductions
Keep a record of your spending, purchases, and other money movements at home. It will initially seem strange and look like you are a cheapskate, but only at first glance. Many rich people have become so due to their prudence and precise planning of where the money is spent. And budget planning was not about a month but about half a year or even a calendar year. You can write down figures in a notebook, keep records in tables, or use special applications. The main thing is that your way of maintaining finances helps and does not create more confusion.
The main categories where you should save:
- Income: planned and unplanned.
- Obligatory payments: taxes, utilities, loans.
- Regular expenses: food, transportation, cosmetics.
- Education.
- Savings: safety cushion, pension, goal.
- Entertainment.
The second step is better to plan your expenses, including unexpected expenses, talk to all family members about it and agree on an approximate amount of these expenses per month. A safety cushion should not be ignored, make sure you create one while planning your expenses. You will need money from this envelope to cover expenses such as pharmacy drugs or emergency car repairs.
If there is an amount left in one of these envelopes at the end of the month, be sure to praise yourself. This motivates you to make further planned purchases and reinforces your future financial strategy very well. If, on the contrary, you spent more than planned, take a look at what you are spending your money on. Check out our list of savings tips and see what you can start saving money on now.
What you can save money on and how to save 10,000?
Tips for saving money:
- Save at least 10% of any income. This way you will save yourself from wasting money inappropriately. You can start with a smaller amount. The most important thing is to make it a habit.
- Start several savings accounts. This is necessary so that there is no illusion that you have accumulated an impressive amount of money and you can spend it wherever you want, for example, on vacation. It is better to open several deposits and save separately for education, save for a car or save for a mortgage.
- Another important step is to start investing: you need to do almost nothing to make your money work for you.
- Make a financial plan for six months.
Let’s say you need $1,000 for gifts by New Year’s Eve.
If you put aside 10 dollars each month, you will be able to cope with the financial burden more easily. Take seasonality into account: when fall approaches, you’ll have higher expenses for school children, and in the winter, you’ll need to “re-wire” your car. Use the app on your mobile to make family budgeting easier and take it to the next level.
