This may sound like an oxymoron but it is actually an art. Most of us have some idea of what things cost and what we are prepared for them. There is also the question of whether you are receiving good value for what you spend.

Eating out is so much fun but we all know that it’s cheaper to eat at home….right? It depends how you shop. Food is yummy and it’s easy to splurge on some fantastic items. Preparation time is another factor and time is limited which makes prepared foods attractive. Here are 10 tips to keep in […]

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: Check your actual income & expenses to your budgeted income & expenses every 2 […]

We’re almost finished. We’ve tested our plan and found that there are a few adjustments to make in order to balance the budget and include some actions to achieve financial goals. This is probably the hardest part of designing a budget. Let’s take a look at how Lily did it. After taking another look at […]

It’s time to incorporate some of the mechanics of budgeting into your budget. Until now, you’ve used your spending history to make your budget. Take a look at your budget and review the income and expense categories and dollar amounts. Is there money left over after all the expenses are deducted from income? If so, […]

Budget Basics – Part Five will address how to determine how much to put in your budget for specific items. Most of us can list the regular monthly categories and also attach a reasonably accurate $ amount to each one but there are lots of other items to consider. There are many little expenses that […]

Budget Basics – Part Three was about the mechanics of gathering your information and breaking it down into numbers and categories. This part can be tricky for people because there’s what you’ve historically spent and what you should allocate for your budget numbers. At a later stage we will take a look at the whole […]

Now that you know what information you need to make up your budget, let’s get started. Make sure you have all your information handy such as your pay check, bills, bank and credit card statements. What will you use to draft your budget? Paper or Excel – whatever is easiest for you. You will likely […]

Now you know what a budget is (Budget Basics – Part One), let’s talk about the components of a budget. Income and expenses are the 2 main components and within them are various categories. Income is money earned. You get a paycheck or receive a pension, earn interest from investments. You may receive it regularly […]

It’s a good time of year to tackle the topic. I’ll be taking a look at Budget Basics over a series of posts starting with ‘What’ and moving onward from there. Most of us have a fairly good idea of what a budget is. Oxford defines a budget as:estimate or plan of how money will […]