We all know we need to make a budget. We all know that a budget is a plan. We all know that without a plan in life, we will not succeed.
So why do we find it so hard to make a budget? What’s our budgeting problem?
The problem for many people is they try to make it too complicated. They go to the bookstore and buy all the books they can on personal budgeting. They purchase the latest money tracking software for their computer. They sign up for one of the many on-line budgeting services. By then they have spent so much time preparing to do a budget, that they don’t have time to do a budget!
Don’t fall into that complicated budget trap. Remember the secret to a successful budget is to keep it simple. How can you keep your budget simple? Well, it’s simple.
Start with a piece of paper, or a blank spreadsheet on your computer. Make a column, or a page, for every time you get paid. (Yes, you read that correctly. You don’t want a column for every month; you want a column for every paycheck). If you get paid every week, you want one column for every week you get paid. And remember, we want to keep it simple, so don’t put more than one month’s worth of columns on a page.
But wait, you say. I only pay my rent once per month; I can’t put my rent on my budget every week, can I? Yes, you can. We are keeping it simple, so if you pay $1,000 per month in rent, put $250 per week on your budget. You could even ask your landlord to let you pay your rent every week; that would be really simple. If you only pay the rent once per month, that’s fine to. The secret is that in your simple budget you are setting aside the rent money every week, so when rent day arrives, the money is already in the bank.
If you budget by the week, and pay by the week, your life will be simple. You won’t be worried about whether or not you will have the rent money this week; you will already have set the money aside. No stress, no worries, because the secret to successful budgeting is keep it simple!
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