Why are budgets important?
You need to figure out where your money is coming from, and more important and difficult, where it is going. List all income sources- If you only have a paycheck from a regular job, for you and/or your spouse, this in your total income. If you have other sources like a part-time job or hobby that makes some money, list those as well. If you want to budget with your after tax income, or your take home pay (after insurance deductibles and 401k or retirement contributions), that is OK, or you can include those in your budget if you want. Since that money is not available to me, I use my take home pay, but I think either way is probably fine. List all expenses- You should be able to rattle off your fixed expenses, like mortgage or rent, car payments, etc., but you may want to average other bills, like electricity or gas, as some of them fluctuate based on the season. You also need to figure out how much you spend on groceries, eating out, and other miscellaneous spending categories. Basica
Related Questions
- How does a department ensure that it doesnt end up with overspent appropriations towards the end of the year, considering that budgets already does their quarterly projections?
- Our department has many divisions and many budgets. How can I be assured that each check from Commercial Supporters will be deposited into the correct CME account?
- Why do Republicans always cut education in their budgets?
