Although most of the work on a budget completed at the beginning, it’s important to use your budget on a regular basis! That doesn’t mean looking at it everyday but it does mean taking a little time to do the following:

1. Check your actual income & expenses to your budgeted income & expenses every 2 or 3 months.
2. Take note of any categories that are ‘over’ budget (you’ve spent more than you allocated).
3. Understand why it happened and ask yourself whether you can correct it. If not, then it’s a good idea to adjust your budget allocation to the realistic amount (this may mean making choices about what you spend in another area – your budget still has to balance).
4. Make sure your budget balances or will balance. This means that your income is greater than or equals your expenses. If your expenses are higher than your income, you will go into debt and have to repay it at some point.
5. Know what you will do with any pay raises or ‘found’ money. Have a plan.
6. Reward yourself for meeting your goals.

Now you have Budgeting Basics!