What makes up a good budget? What expenses should you include in the budget? What can you do about variable expenses in your budget? How can you personalize a budget?
Where are you going?
The key to a good budget or spending plan is knowing where you have been and where you want to go. Knowing where you have been done by insuring you have written down where all you money has been going. You can find this information by categorizing and reviewing your last 6 months of check registers or other accounting methods you have been employing. If you have no such method in place, you have just unchecked your main budgeting problem which is the first item to be corrected.
If on the other hand you use a check register or other means but have numerous general entries such as "cash" or "miscellaneous" or other unidentifiable labels, this too must be corrected. You MUST know where your money is going before you can divert it. I recommend carrying a small spiral notebook for at least 2 weeks (longer is better better) and recording every cash transaction. I have never had a client or student do this who has not come back to me amazed by what they had learned from this experience.
Budget Labels
Once you have a record of all your expenses for a decent period of time, the reminder of the budgeting process is relatively easy. The following labels can be used to guide you in listing what debts and expenses go where in organizing your finances. Nothing from the list below is written in concrete. So adjust the labels to suit your particular needs. Where an entry is variable, enter a monthly average based upon past history and expected futures.
Here is a recommended list of budget items:
Income:
Your Income
Spouse's Income
Other Income
Expenses:
Fixed Expense
Rent (not mortgage)
Other Housing
Child Care
Child Support
Alimony
House insurance
Car Insurance
Medical / Dental Insurance
Life Insurance
Other Insurance
Variable Expenses:
Utilities
Phone
Cell
Cable
Internet
Other Utility
Transportation
Food
Clothing
Medical Expense
Personal
Entertainment
Savings
Other Variable Expenses
Secured Debt – Those bills / debts which have a tangible asset (Mortgage, Auto, etc)
Un-secured Debt – Those debts which offer nothing tangible that can be taken from you for non-payment (credit cards, medical bills, etc.)
Federal Guidelines For Household Budgets
The following are recommended percentages for household expenses. They are offered by the federal government in bankruptcy counseling nationwide. They should be used only as guidelines.
Housing 25%
Transportation 15%
Utilities 10%
Food 10%
Clothing 5%
Medical 10%
Personal 5%
Other 5%
Savings 10%
Source by Michael Killian