A budget is a plan that lets you know whether or not you are going in the right direction financially. It enables you to improve the quality of your life by letting you know your financial picture at all times.
The key to financial freedom and successful money management is creating one that cuts expenses, pays down your debt and allows you to save for the future all at the same time.
A budget is a tool you can use to help you get the most out of your money, to direct it where you need it to go to give yourself a better life and a better future.
Your dreams will stay just dreams if you don’t have a financial plan to turn them from dreams into goals and then into reality. A goal is just a dream if there is no plan of action behind it.
It allows you to manage your money instead of your money managing you. It lets you know whether or not you are living within your means.
If there is nothing left after you pay the bills or before you finish paying the bills, you know you have to make adjustments. Either by cutting expenses, curbing your spending habits or earning more.
It can help you to reach your short term, medium term and long term financial goals. By knowing where your money is going, you to make the necessary adjustments.
You can have an emergency fund, plan for a vacation, put aside money for college for the kids, and invest for your future. Even if it is only a few dollars a month toward each, a small start is better than no start at all.
A budget can improve your homelife. It can help to bring you and your spouse or partner closer together by talking about where your money is going to go. By setting up a plan, you can both see to it that money is set aside for each of your goals as well as the goals that you have in common.
It will stop the disagreements when it’s time to pay the bills. Communication is the key to a good relationship as well as a good financial future.
It can create extra money so you and your family can do the things that matter to you the most. It points out areas where you might be spending too much so you can make adjustments and redirect the money where you want it to go.
Which means you can redirect the amount of money that you choose for fun and entertaiment. After all, if your budget is all work and no play, you wont’t be very motivated to stick with it for very long.
It can help you to get out of debt. Just as you could redirect your money as stated above, you can use your budget to pay down your debts. It can show you where the best areas are to make possible cuts.
You can then, redirect that money toward your highest interest debt first and pay them off one at a time. Keep making minimum payments on the rest, but concentrate anything you are able to cut elsewhere on one debt at a time.
After you pay off the highest, go to the next highest and so forth. You will be motivated to stick with it once you see those debts disappear one at a time.
It can help give you peace of mind. No more stress about whether or not there is enough money to pay the bills. No more avoiding the phone wondering whether it is a creditor or a bill collector.
No more arguments about where the money is going, because you’ll know. No more sleepless nights (atleast if you were losing sleep over money), because you will know that even if your situation is not good right now, you are facing it and doing what you can to handle it. By making a plan and sticking to it, it will get better over time.
Imagine how easy you can rest knowing that when you retire, you won’t be relying on social security because you planned ahead. Imagine being able to use that check for extras, luxuries or fun money instead of needing it for necessities.
That is possible if you just plan for it and take he actions necessary to get you there. So start working on your own budget today. You’ll be glad you did once you know exactly where your money is going.
According to statistics 77 million baby boomers are due to retire in the next ten years. That is going to put a very large strain on social security.
Your Social Security Benefits might be very much lower than you are expecting them to be. In order to make up for the extra strain on the system either benefits will be cut or the retirement age will be raised.
It would be my guess that both of those things will happen and more. Social security might not be here by the time we need it. So do yourself a favor and start putting your financial house in order now.
The sooner you start a budget, the sooner you can be worry free, knowing that you are doing what you have to do to protect your tomorrows.
