I will have a major announcement next week, and because of that, my husband and I decided to re-calculate our monthly budget. For the most part, in the last three years, we have lived together, we have done a great job to keep our monthly expenses at bay. Some things arise that you cannot foresee. So that brings me to the question, do you have a fixed budget for your monthly expenses or yours widely fluctuate.
Is Your Monthly Expenses Fixed or Fluctuate
There are so many apps these days to keep you in check. The ones I have heard people use the most is Mint. However, we do not use any of those apps since we are old school. We created our budget using excel. I find that to be easy because I like to create things my way.
In 2019, we went over our monthly budget three times. To prevent the same thing from happening this year, we decided to create a monthly fixed budget. I always tell people to create a fixed budget, stick to it, and only go over that budget during emergencies.
One thing we realized is our expenses at Costco Wholesale. We found ourselves at COSTCO more than twice a month during the year. Why was this happening? Were we buying unnecessary items? You will be surprised at the amount of money you will save if you create a budget and stick to it.
Some people may think they can come up with a number without writing it down. However, writing it down is proven to be effective, and keeps you in check.
For instance, if your monthly income is 2,000 dollars. Your rent, plus other expenses are 1000, which leaves you with 1k a month. How do you spend the 1k? Invest? Save? Emergency fund? Vacation fund? Or Donations? The choice is yours, however, do you have a budget that’s fixed to ensure you are not spending more than the amount needed.
How to Maintain a Successful Budget
To be successful at maintaining a specific monthly budget, it is a must to know the exact amount. The random happy hours after work that you didn’t plan, can catch up, and cause you to spend extra money monthly. Remember the nightly dinners you plan with friends once in a while? Write that down as well. You may think its 25 dollars here and 50 dollars there, yet it adds up, especially if you live in a big city where things are costly. So what’s my Advice?
Write down your monthly expenses such as rent, mortgage, utilities, gas/transportation, groceries, household items, car issuance, life insurance, investment allocation, etc. Subtract every single expense, even the ones going towards your investment and savings from your total income. The remainder is the extra money you pay yourself and for you to decide whatever you want to do with it.
I plan on writing several blog posts on budgeting, savings, etc. If you enjoyed reading this, and want to learn more, subscribe below and share it on your social media platforms. Do not forget to follow me on IG and Twitter.
If you are interested in the excel sheet that we created for ourselves, go ahead and shoot me an email via the contact form below and I will be happy to send it to you.
Click below to read my recent post about money:
- How to save money during the CoronaVirus
- Top 3 ways to earn money in 2020
- Creative ways to save money for travel
Until Next Time,
Charly 🙂
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