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How You Can Budget for the New Year

December 23, 2017 by Justin Weinger

Some make a New Years resolution of going to the gym, which is great at first when using the membership, but after a few months you start to go less and then pretty soon you are paying and not going and wondering why you still pay month after month.  While sure, health is important, but your finances are also important when it means not only getting by now but making sure you are set for the future when you do decide to finally walk away from work and have enough to enjoy life experiences.  Don’t let your financial resolution go to waste and prepare now to budget this upcoming year.

Create an Emergency Fund

How would you pay for a sudden car repair that wasn’t covered under warranty, or a home renovation that you have been putting off, or even worse, a job-loss that you will need a few months to get by under you find another job?  While my adt may cover your home, what you need to cover your finances is a few months’ worth of expenses that you can put into a fund to have on hand to give yourself a little cushion to prepare for the unexpected.

Simplify How You Spend

Whether you prefer cash, debit, or credit, using a combination of all three can sometimes be too much to keep track of how much money is going out, and pretty soon you may find yourself in debt that you cannot pay the credit card statement balance in time and start to incur interest that puts you further and further back each month.  If you can use one method, that will be a lot easier to monitor exactly how much and for what, your hard-earned money is going out each month.

Track What You’re Spending

If you can take a look at your credit or debit card statement from the month prior you can have a good idea of exactly how much you are spending in monthly bills, food, gas, and spending money and start to figure out where you can make cuts in order to free up extra money each month.  Take a look at eating out for example and what it costs to not only feed yourself, but an entire family, going grocery shopping for a fraction of the cost and preparing breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and even your morning coffee can probably free up hundreds of dollars a month.

Stay on Point

Budgeting isn’t easy, in fact it’s long been said that two-thirds of the population don’t follow a budget, but that is not a good thing, considering how much debt and what little we have saved is, so if you can at least start to have a good idea of what you are spending compared to what you should be spending, plus freeing up extra money to save for your future, you can be in a good financial position going forward and gone are the days of having no idea how much money is coming in and going out.

Filed Under: Build A Better Budget

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FI Journey is a place for stories. Financial independence is our primary topic, but paying off debt, responsible finance, budgeting, and earning extra income are just a few of the other stories you’ll read around here. Thanks for stopping by!
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