So, You Got Some Money?

Same way you take care of your health every day, Your Budget is something you nurse every day. It became a part of your life. And that’s the key to maintain a good financial health.

What is Budge?

We all work hard to earn money, don’t you agree? And the payday is always special. You buy something yourself, maybe take your loved ones to a dinner. Sure, spending money is fun and all but you have a life ahead. Not that you never thought about it but the sooner you realize the better.

‘Managing your money with a sustainable spending plan is budget.’

How Do You Do it?

It’s important to keep track of your expenses. For that you need a good plan. Every great financial plan starts with a sound budget. Getting into debt can be a vicious cycle that is tough to get out of. That’s where budgeting comes in. Planning your expenditure according to your income always helps to achieve more out of your hard-earned money. Remember, your budget needs to work for you, not the other way around.

Here, Five easy steps to get you started with Budgeting.

1. Calculate your expenditure: find where your money is going and see if it’s something you really want. In early stage of budgeting this is simple yet most important step. Once you have your data, organize the numbers by categories, such as food and groceries, cloths and utility bill such as electricity, gas and internet bill. Sum-up then compare it to your income. Be careful with these steps, don’t forget anything.

2. Write down what you want: Once u figure out where your money is going, try to think how you actually want to spend your money. Take a notepad and write those down. Writing down what you want help twice as much compared to just thinking about it. It will help you process the actual needs (if you really need that stuff) and get to a conclusion. Budget always forces you to map out your goals, save your money, keep track of your progress, and make your dreams a reality.

3. Savings account: Don’t ever spend all your money. Saving money always helps in the long run. If your expenses are so high that you think you can’t save as much as you’d want, maybe it’s time to cut your expanses. Identify nonessentials that you can spend less on, such as entertainment and dining out. Look for what is eating up your money like buying expensive stuff, your high maintenance lifestyle, too. Once you do that maybe you can agree with the saying “If you save money, money will save u”.

4. Remember long term goal: You want to save more, ether earn more or spend less. We always Set goal for long term. Keeping that, well, that’s another story. Budgeting will help u achieve your long-term goal. Long-term goals are usually cost more. These goals may take several months, sometimes decades to reach. Just make sure it’s realistic.

5. Adjust accordingly: we change our job, place and lifestyle. With that our habit changes. Understanding what you can and can’t afford with your pay cheque will help you budget efficiently. You don’t want to go overboard with your imaginary salary. Adjusting expenditure according to your pay cheque makes all the different between your and the guy with neck-deep in debt. However, if you create and stick to a budget, you'll never find yourself in this precarious position. You'll know exactly how much money you earn, how much you can afford to spend each month and how much you need to save.

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be. We know changing habits is not easy. It takes time. But don’t feel let down that you can’t do your budgeting. You can start by well known, tried and true method of budgeting

‘The 80/20 rule’

Save 20% of your income and spend the rest of it. Easy right? Once you start doing that you will get the picture of real scenario. From then you can follow those steps one at a time and be the boos of your financial life.

Just like you take care of your health every day, you eat healthy, drink enough water and take your vitamins. Your Budget is something you nurse every day. It became a part of your life. And that’s the key to maintain a good financial health.

--Miraz Rahman Niloy.