Budgeting is a very important part of everyone’s life. For this is about the allocation of wants and well as your needs, your time and your effort on how much you are going to exert to realize such particular task that you are going to work with. But the word budgeting usually comes in the extent of money. Currently, most of the priorities require money; many would say it’s not! But this is a reality check in which we have to face. Though it’s just like a big bang on your head, you don’t have to put a period doing everything. Because Micron Associates believe that in every endeavor there is always an equivalent of ways. Ways on how you are going to make sense on your money.
Decide on your priorities.
Most people’s budgets revolve around three costs: food, housing, and transportation. After you budget for those expenses, which probably account for between half to two-thirds of your take-home pay, and factor in any debt payments, decide how to prioritize savings, household expenses, professional expenses, and entertainment.
Harness the power of a Web tool.
On Mint.com, you can upload your account information and get immediate insight into where your money is going. You can then use that information to start saving more money, just in time for back-to-school season. Other online options include Wesabe.com, Penny minder, and You Need a Budget and the like.
Time yourself.
Once you decide you need to buy a specific item—a new computer, for example, or a backpack—give yourself a specific time limit to make the purchase, such as a half-hour. “You don’t want to lose precious time sifting through options when your instinctive reaction will probably end up being the best decision,” says AnnaMaria Turano, co-author of Stopwatch Marketing: Take Charge of the Time When Your Customer Decides to Buy.
Consider the year, not just the month.
Budgeting for the year is better largely because we feel less confident in our monthly estimates, so add more of a buffer for unexpected expenses, according to research by University of Southern California’s Gulden Ulkumen, Cornell’s Manoj Thomas, and New York University’s Vicki Morwitz.
Set money aside for leisure.
Research shows that people get the most pleasure out of spending on leisure activities, such as vacations, movie theater tickets, and hobbies, partly because these things usually involve spending time with other people. Don’t forget to reserve some cash for such happiness-inducing pleasures.
Consider your high and low points.
A quick review of where you went wrong—and right—over the past few months will help pinpoint your weaknesses. Did you end up spending twice as much as usual on plane tickets because you waited too long to buy them? Or did you buy overly expensive gifts? Don’t just beat yourself up; consider the good decisions you made, too, whether it was comparing prices before buying a new television or cooking more homemade meals.
Take the spending diary challenge.
Write down every single thing you spend money on for two weeks, along with notes on why and how it made you feel. You might be surprised to discover the real leaks in your budget. Instead of lunches out and cab rides, you might be wasting money on coffee and happy hours. After the two weeks is up, review the list and see what jumps out at you.
Avoid temptation.
If you were on a diet, would you stare at chocolate chip cookies all day? Of course not. So why do we torture ourselves by allowing catalogues full of shiny, new kitchen gadgets or tempting electronics to come through our mails slot every day? Cancel them.
Reward yourself.
Diets that force people to expunge almost everything tasty from their meals never seem to have much success. That principle applies to money, too. Denying ourselves every material pleasure turns money into a sad subject, instead of an empowering one. After all, you work hard for your money, so it should bring you some pleasure.
