Budgeting to stretch your dollar
October 15, 2008
We are constantly amazed that our money disappears so rapidly despite our perceived frugality and spending wisdom. Most of us could calculate roughly how much is spent on daily and weekly essentials. Rising interest rates have meant that the media has inundated us with reports about mortgages and the housing market fluctuations. Escalating fuel costs also feature prominently in daily news broadcasts. Budgeting is systematic. It is a way to achieve financial discipline by changing the way you think... Read more »
A Good Budget Leads to More Available Income
September 12, 2008
Creating a budget is easier said than done. It requires keeping good records, balancing your checkbook and organization. Many are not motivated to do it or simply do not like to work with numbers. But everyone will find it in their self-interest to make the effort to outline their expenses against income even if it requires getting someone else to help undertake the task. The budget should include monthly income and outgo, projections of expected increases and decreases and some buffer for... Read more »
Let’s Get Fiscal : Relaxing The Fiscal Rules
July 23, 2008
It seems to me that, for large swathes of the public, the two “fiscal rules” that govern economic expenditure are, if not totally incomprehensible, at least too shatteringly dull to care about. One states that borrowing should not exceed the bracket of 40% of GDP whilst the other, the ‘golden rule’, refers to the balancing of the budget over the economic cycle. It’s not exactly Bad Boys II is it? For the past 11 years these Brownite commandments have largely gone undisturbed.... Read more »
How A Budget Can Stop Debt From Piling Up
July 17, 2008
If you’ve managed (or mismanaged) to get yourself into a boatload of debt, there are ways to insure that this never happens again if at all possible, and the cornerstone of these ways is a sound, well-thought-out budgeting program. While this may not seem like a very sexy answer to what appears to be a huge problem, it is in fact the most essential part of your future going forward from here. If you don’t manage your money better, you’ll only end up in the same position all over... Read more »
How Good Budgeting Can Stop Debt
July 17, 2008
If you’ve managed (or mismanaged) to get yourself into a boatload of debt, there are ways to insure that this never happens again if at all possible, and the cornerstone of these ways is a sound, well-thought-out budgeting program. While this may not seem like a very sexy answer to what appears to be a huge problem, it is in fact the most essential part of your future going forward from here. If you don’t manage your money better, you’ll only end up in the same position all over... Read more »
Creating a Personal Budget
June 19, 2008
Where does all that money go each month? Designing a personal budget is the only thing that can address every one of the questions that everybody wants the answers for but that no one wants to conquer. For some, you might as well be strapping the handcuffs on them. A personal budget is not an easy task to do, but it is worth the effort if you were able to complete one. For better comprehension of the whole thing, we’ll start on the basics first. A personal budget is the complete list of... Read more »
If You Spend More Than You Earn Then You Better Start Budgeting
June 11, 2008
Knowing how to manage money can help you make smart choices. Your money will work harder for you. You’ll be more likely to avoid traps that can undermine your ability to attain your financial goals. You’ll be in a better position to pay off debt and build savings. Calculate how much money you earn in a month after taxes. For this budget plan, use your net pay or take home pay. Include tips, supplementary income, side-jobs, investments etc. This is your income. Figure out your expenses.... Read more »
How To Set A Financial Goal to Reduce Personal Debt
May 30, 2008
Firstly, what do I mean by a financial goal? For most of us, that would generally be a goal to either increase income or reduce consumer debt. Of course there may be times in our lives where we want to increase consumer debt to acquire goods and services sooner or to reduce our income as a trade off to have more time but in this article, let’s set those situations aside. In particular, let’s look at the scenario of reducing consumer debt by 50% in six months. My standard formula for... Read more »
How Business Bookkeeping Can Make Budgeting Easy
May 21, 2008
Small business owners generally fall into two categories. There are the business owners that let their accounting tasks, invoicing, and payables pile up on their desk - or even in a shoe box, until they’re forced to face the music. Usually this happens around tax time. The other sides of the coin are the business owner that are amazingly organized and know where every penny of their money is going. What do these business owners have that the rest of us don’t? More time? A PhD in accounting?... Read more »
Tips For Creating A Business Budget
May 20, 2008
Creating a business budget is very similar to creating a personal budget. However there are some differences. When you own a business, taxes are not directly taken out of your income, which makes your income and any quarterly tax payments extra important to track. Having an accurate and realistic budget will help you make accurate spending decisions and make it easier to predict profits. Which means the more frequently you track you costs, the better. Here are the recommended steps for creating... Read more »
