Budgeting Doesn't Mean You're Broke!
by, Sonya Smith
Every time my
husband hears the word "budget", he starts to panic. He wants
no part of it! Don't get me wrong, he doesn't throw our money
away on frivolous stuff. But somehow, living on a budget has
come to mean that you are poor, when it shouldn't.
Successful, wealthy people got that way by spending less than
they make. The best way to do that is to create a budget and
stick to it. Whether you make less than $20,000 a year or more
than a billion, you should always know how much money you have
coming in, and how much you have going out.
There are many ways to create a budget. Whether you choose to
do it the old fashioned way, with hand written ledger sheets or
a notebook, create your own spreadsheets or use one of the many
software options on the market is up to you. I prefer using a
software program for keeping track of my budget. Most are
relatively easy to use, and you can create up to the minute
reports, balance your check book with the click of a button,
keep track of your networth, do nifty pie charts and more with
some of the better ones.
Recently I began using a free software program called AceMoney
Lite for my budgeting needs. (you can get it from
www.mechcad.com or www.download.com for free)It's simple to use,
and very straight forward. My banking info downloads right into
it, and I have needed no tutorials to use it so far. You can
only use it with one account, so if you have multiple accounts,
you may want to go with their paid option, or with something
like Microsoft Money, which I have used and really liked, or
Quicken.
If you're in a financial rut, you can't get out of it until you
know where your money goes, and how to stop the leaks. Spend a
day figuring out what you owe, where your money is actually
going, and if your current income is doing the job. It's most
important to figure out where your money leaks are so you can
stop them. Mine were going to WalMart, happy meals, and Dt. Mt.
Dews at the convenience, store, lol. Then you can figure out
where you need to cut costs to put more towards paying down your
debt or increasing your savings.
Sonya Smith
Join us for our Rich Women, Rich Desserts program
and discover how you can gain control of your financial future
www.RichWomenSorority.com. Sonya has other stay at
home Mom tips and articles at her new website
Stay at Home
Mom's World.
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