Budgeting is one of the most important financial planning skills you’ll ever learn. It’s a way to ensure that your money is going towards what it should and not flowing into areas that you don’t intend for it to (such as food shopping instead of home repairs). This blog post will take you through the steps involved in creating and maintaining a weekly budget, and some helpful tips on how to make sure your budget makes sense and works out well in the long run!
Consider your monthly income
This will typically be the most variable element in a weekly budget. Some people have variable incomes from paycheck by paycheck, while others have an annual contract. If someone has a variable pay check they will need to adjust their weekly budget accordingly every two weeks following how much they’ve been paid.
Consider your monthly expenses
This is probably the most important aspect of a weekly budget. The only way to make a budget realistic is to know what your monthly bills are. These might include rent, utilities, food, and other big expenses. These will typically be set in stone and there will be no need to adjust these numbers until they change later on.
Consider what you afford to spend a week on entertainment, clothing, and other items that have no inherent value
There is no right or wrong answer here as this is really up to personal preference or comfort level. However there are some things you should have as part of your weekly budget regardless of how much money you make.
Consider how much you need to set aside for savings
While it is normal to save a majority of your money perhaps sixty percent, your weekly budget will show you how much you actually need to save. You’ll want to save enough that you can replace an expensive item, or even place another one on top of it and not be concerned about losing sleep or moving into a smaller house due to finances.
The budget is an important part of the financial planning process. Many issues that arise in a person’s life can be considered and solved with the help of a budget. Without the budget, many would not know when they need to spend money, save money, or what they actually spend their money on each day. The budget is also able to help predict finances based on income projections and loan interest rates.
