Archive for July, 2006
Create a Personal Budget with These Simple Steps
There’s no question, a budget is the best way to gain control over your finances and live a life free of financial stress. Here are the simple steps to achieve this:
Step 1: Collect your financial information together. This will include every credit card statement, bank statement and your receipts. Anything that documents your expenses for the last three months needs to be collected. What are you going to do with this information? You’re going to use it to categorize your expenses. What do you spend on your home? What do you spend on your car? Your food? Your health? Entertainment? You’re not tracking your expenses right now, you’re simply coming up with expense categories and sub-categories for your budget. If it makes it easier, begin by drafting the categories and sub-categories you think your expenses will fall into. As you go through your expenses you can verify your category decisions.
Step 2: Gather your income statements or profit and loss sheets and determine how much money you really have to budget with. You can use either your net or gross income as your number, just be consistent. Also, if you choose to use your gross income, make sure to account for your taxes on your list of expenses.
Step 3: Using the same documents you used to create your budget expense categories and sub-categories, now examine how much you spend each month on each. I highly recommend that you write this number down. It may be an eye-opening exercise, but it will also help you predict how much you will spend in the future. You want your budget to be a realistic reflection of your spending habits, not a financial diet.
Step 4: Find a method of recording your budget. This could be a simple spreadsheet where your columns are a list of your categories, your weekly or monthly available spending amount, how much you actually spend and the difference between the two numbers. Your rows will be the income and expense categories you’ve already established.
Step 5: Create a budget, keeping in mind that you will want a budget category devoted to savings goals too. Once your budget is created, spend a month or two following it. Keep your budget close at hand so you can track your finances closely. Assess your spending on a weekly or monthly basis. Re-evaluate your budget if you need to. Your budget is not set in stone and some of your expenses are variable, meaning you control how much you spend on them. For example, entertainment is variable and your mortgage is fixed.
A budget is nothing more than a spending plan. It isn’t a financial diet. It is a tool to control your money and be knowledgeable and smart about where it goes. It’s your money after all, and isn’t it great to have the upper hand?
By: Eddie Lamb
About the Author:
Step 1: Collect your financial information together. This will include every credit card statement, bank statement and your receipts. Anything that documents your expenses for the last three months needs to be collected. What are you going to do with this information? You’re going to use it to categorize your expenses. What do you spend on your home? What do you spend on your car? Your food? Your health? Entertainment? You’re not tracking your expenses right now, you’re simply coming up with expense categories and sub-categories for your budget. If it makes it easier, begin by drafting the categories and sub-categories you think your expenses will fall into. As you go through your expenses you can verify your category decisions.
Step 2: Gather your income statements or profit and loss sheets and determine how much money you really have to budget with. You can use either your net or gross income as your number, just be consistent. Also, if you choose to use your gross income, make sure to account for your taxes on your list of expenses.
Step 3: Using the same documents you used to create your budget expense categories and sub-categories, now examine how much you spend each month on each. I highly recommend that you write this number down. It may be an eye-opening exercise, but it will also help you predict how much you will spend in the future. You want your budget to be a realistic reflection of your spending habits, not a financial diet.
Step 4: Find a method of recording your budget. This could be a simple spreadsheet where your columns are a list of your categories, your weekly or monthly available spending amount, how much you actually spend and the difference between the two numbers. Your rows will be the income and expense categories you’ve already established.
Step 5: Create a budget, keeping in mind that you will want a budget category devoted to savings goals too. Once your budget is created, spend a month or two following it. Keep your budget close at hand so you can track your finances closely. Assess your spending on a weekly or monthly basis. Re-evaluate your budget if you need to. Your budget is not set in stone and some of your expenses are variable, meaning you control how much you spend on them. For example, entertainment is variable and your mortgage is fixed.
A budget is nothing more than a spending plan. It isn’t a financial diet. It is a tool to control your money and be knowledgeable and smart about where it goes. It’s your money after all, and isn’t it great to have the upper hand?
By: Eddie Lamb
About the Author:
Create your Personal Budget with these simple steps and easier way. Eddie Lamb owns LiveMortgageFree a website devoted to helping homeowners, first time buyers or tenants to Live Mortgage Free.
Toby Gasco
Fameworthy – episode 1: Low Budget Stars
hotbananastud asked:
Ex-stars Skylar Fortune and Spencer Mallorby team up and document their climb back up the ladder of fame with their foreign assistant, Ching Chang.
Dottie Mofield
Dear Mr. Jesus (Twisted Low Budget Version)
TheTwistedPictures asked:
The editing is pretty wack but listen learn love and enjoy 
Anthony
Does anyone know any good sites for Budgeting?
SJ H asked:
I like to learn new ways to budget my income any ideas?? I will accept your personal way as well as free sites thanks so much
Pauline Tuller
I like to learn new ways to budget my income any ideas?? I will accept your personal way as well as free sites thanks so much
Pauline Tuller
Governor Chris Gregoire 2009-2011 biennial budget proposal
washingtongovernment asked:
Governor Chris Gregoire speaks about her 2009-2011 biennial budget proposal that was submitted on December 18, 2008.
Chauncey Peckens
Budget Blunders
Does your budget never seem to balance the way it should? Are you constantly digging into the savings to make ends meet?
If you find that your budget isn’t doing the job, then it’s time to take a good look at essential components you might be missing or you have not allowed sufficiently for.
Some of the biggest budget blunders are…
1. Failure to plan for inevitable expenses
We all have irregular expenses that we naively refer to as “unexpected.” Come on, is that flat tire really unexpected? Don’t you secretly know that these things happen? Have you ever owned a car that did not need repairs or maintenance? If you have, you probably didn’t own it long enough. The solution; Start counting on the car breaking down instead of hoping it doesn’t!
The car isn’t the only area we slight in the budget. Do you find yourself hoping and praying that the hot water heater, washer, dryer, or some other major appliance doesn’t need to be repaired or, worse yet, replaced.
Home maintenance is always a factor in our finances. Even if you rent, you probably have some home related expenses waiting to creep up on you.
These are just a couple examples of variable expenses that we often overlook.
When you consider the following other categories that could be included in this list, you can see the serious consequences this oversight can have on your budget…
Property, Auto, Health and Life Insurance if not paid on a monthly schedule.
Even if you do pay monthly, you should try to save for a lump payment if at all possible. Most companies charge up to a $3 fee for monthly payment options. It doesn’t sound like a lot but, over a years time it’s $36 you won’t be investing in their cause. I say, it’s always best to invest in yourself. Don’t you agree? Put the $36 in your savings!
Taxes – Property, Federal, and State – If you know you will have to pay Uncle Sam, prepare for it. If you value your home or other property investment, prepare for the costs. Don’t scramble at the last minute to come up with enough to pay your obligations. It’s likely other areas of your budget will suffer greatly, since these expenses have a high priority.
Clothing – Now, I can wear a piece of clothing ’til you can see through the threads. I work at home, so I only have a few choice pieces for special occasions. I’m a no frills kind of gal. But, I have four kids. Do I expect them to stop growing or somehow not care how they look to their peers? Of course not! But, I’m working on it. Just kidding! I know that they will need more clothes, more shoes, more accessories… etc., etc., etc., etc…
I use every resource available to me to cut down the clothing budget, I know I must account for this expense. It will arise, whether I am prepared or not!
School Supplies – This is another one you just can’t omit if you have kids. You can, however, use some clever money saving techniques and multiple resources to keep this expense to a minimum.
Pet Care – If you have a pet, you most likely have expenses that come with this beloved family member. Vaccinations, flea control, veterinarian, and food are just a few that come to mind. Again, minimize the costs by using all your resources.
Tip: My local county animal shelter gives rabies vaccines for $5. Good for three years if regularly vaccinated. Does yours?
Gifts – If your friends, family, and kids don’t care if they don’t get gifts from you, if you’ve declared war on the holidays, or have a convenient hiding place when these occasions take place, then you can skip this one!
I’m guessing most of you are including this one. It’s inevitable. My best advice is to set strict limits and be a smart shopper. Seek out the bargains and buy when it’s a deal, even if it’s months ahead of time.
Medical – Unless you’re lucky enough, or not lucky (depending on how you look at it), to qualify for medical assistance, you undoubtedly have medical expenses over and above the cost of your health insurance; Co-pays for doctors and medicines, over-the-counter medications, dental and eye care expenses. Nope, can’t omit it, have to include it. Sorry, it’s a must have!
Vacation – If you have the income, include this one to make planning less stressful. Get inventive if you don’t have enough income. You can still have a vacation with limited, or no, travel expenses.
2. No Emergency Fund
…or misconceptions about what warrants an emergency. An emergency is this case should be limited to an unexpected occurrence. No, if you’ve been listening, having to replace the water pump on your car is not an emergency. A real emergency might include; loss of income, severe illness, or death in the family.
Although we all hope such occurrences never happen to us, sometimes we aren’t lucky enough to escape these unfortunate events in life.
You should try to set aside a specific amount, no matter how little, each month in an emergency fund to eventually equal at least three to six months of your current income.
3. Living Above Your Means
This is simply spending more than you earn. Unfortunately, this is a direct consequence of budget blunders #1 and #2. When funds are not set aside for variable expenses and emergencies, you will inevitably turn to plastic money (credit cards) to bail out. Spending more than you earn is a sure sign that you’re headed for trouble. When you spend future earnings it’s like “counting your chickens before the eggs hatch.” The long term consequences are usually devastating. It’s likely you’ll end up in deep debt and eventually have no where to turn except counseling or bankruptcy. Don’t let it get that far. Take control of your money. Now!
If you’ve been making these budget blunders, you’re probably exhausted just considering all the work you have to do on your budget. I’m exhausted just writing about it. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll be on the path to a really successful budget.
Add up all your variable expenses and divide by twelve to come up with a monthly amount that you should be setting aside for this expense. Keep these funds separate from your monthly bill fund to avoid dipping into it accidentally.
Start with 5-10% of your income to start a savings, or apply to an existing savings, each month for your emergency fund.
Make sure your expenses are within your income. If not, start reviewing, eliminating, and reducing those expenses to fit into your income limits.
A good budget is like a good friend. It helps keep you strong and steady.
By: Mark Stevenson
About the Author:
If you find that your budget isn’t doing the job, then it’s time to take a good look at essential components you might be missing or you have not allowed sufficiently for.
Some of the biggest budget blunders are…
1. Failure to plan for inevitable expenses
We all have irregular expenses that we naively refer to as “unexpected.” Come on, is that flat tire really unexpected? Don’t you secretly know that these things happen? Have you ever owned a car that did not need repairs or maintenance? If you have, you probably didn’t own it long enough. The solution; Start counting on the car breaking down instead of hoping it doesn’t!
The car isn’t the only area we slight in the budget. Do you find yourself hoping and praying that the hot water heater, washer, dryer, or some other major appliance doesn’t need to be repaired or, worse yet, replaced.
Home maintenance is always a factor in our finances. Even if you rent, you probably have some home related expenses waiting to creep up on you.
These are just a couple examples of variable expenses that we often overlook.
When you consider the following other categories that could be included in this list, you can see the serious consequences this oversight can have on your budget…
Property, Auto, Health and Life Insurance if not paid on a monthly schedule.
Even if you do pay monthly, you should try to save for a lump payment if at all possible. Most companies charge up to a $3 fee for monthly payment options. It doesn’t sound like a lot but, over a years time it’s $36 you won’t be investing in their cause. I say, it’s always best to invest in yourself. Don’t you agree? Put the $36 in your savings!
Taxes – Property, Federal, and State – If you know you will have to pay Uncle Sam, prepare for it. If you value your home or other property investment, prepare for the costs. Don’t scramble at the last minute to come up with enough to pay your obligations. It’s likely other areas of your budget will suffer greatly, since these expenses have a high priority.
Clothing – Now, I can wear a piece of clothing ’til you can see through the threads. I work at home, so I only have a few choice pieces for special occasions. I’m a no frills kind of gal. But, I have four kids. Do I expect them to stop growing or somehow not care how they look to their peers? Of course not! But, I’m working on it. Just kidding! I know that they will need more clothes, more shoes, more accessories… etc., etc., etc., etc…
I use every resource available to me to cut down the clothing budget, I know I must account for this expense. It will arise, whether I am prepared or not!
School Supplies – This is another one you just can’t omit if you have kids. You can, however, use some clever money saving techniques and multiple resources to keep this expense to a minimum.
Pet Care – If you have a pet, you most likely have expenses that come with this beloved family member. Vaccinations, flea control, veterinarian, and food are just a few that come to mind. Again, minimize the costs by using all your resources.
Tip: My local county animal shelter gives rabies vaccines for $5. Good for three years if regularly vaccinated. Does yours?
Gifts – If your friends, family, and kids don’t care if they don’t get gifts from you, if you’ve declared war on the holidays, or have a convenient hiding place when these occasions take place, then you can skip this one!
I’m guessing most of you are including this one. It’s inevitable. My best advice is to set strict limits and be a smart shopper. Seek out the bargains and buy when it’s a deal, even if it’s months ahead of time.
Medical – Unless you’re lucky enough, or not lucky (depending on how you look at it), to qualify for medical assistance, you undoubtedly have medical expenses over and above the cost of your health insurance; Co-pays for doctors and medicines, over-the-counter medications, dental and eye care expenses. Nope, can’t omit it, have to include it. Sorry, it’s a must have!
Vacation – If you have the income, include this one to make planning less stressful. Get inventive if you don’t have enough income. You can still have a vacation with limited, or no, travel expenses.
2. No Emergency Fund
…or misconceptions about what warrants an emergency. An emergency is this case should be limited to an unexpected occurrence. No, if you’ve been listening, having to replace the water pump on your car is not an emergency. A real emergency might include; loss of income, severe illness, or death in the family.
Although we all hope such occurrences never happen to us, sometimes we aren’t lucky enough to escape these unfortunate events in life.
You should try to set aside a specific amount, no matter how little, each month in an emergency fund to eventually equal at least three to six months of your current income.
3. Living Above Your Means
This is simply spending more than you earn. Unfortunately, this is a direct consequence of budget blunders #1 and #2. When funds are not set aside for variable expenses and emergencies, you will inevitably turn to plastic money (credit cards) to bail out. Spending more than you earn is a sure sign that you’re headed for trouble. When you spend future earnings it’s like “counting your chickens before the eggs hatch.” The long term consequences are usually devastating. It’s likely you’ll end up in deep debt and eventually have no where to turn except counseling or bankruptcy. Don’t let it get that far. Take control of your money. Now!
If you’ve been making these budget blunders, you’re probably exhausted just considering all the work you have to do on your budget. I’m exhausted just writing about it. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll be on the path to a really successful budget.
Add up all your variable expenses and divide by twelve to come up with a monthly amount that you should be setting aside for this expense. Keep these funds separate from your monthly bill fund to avoid dipping into it accidentally.
Start with 5-10% of your income to start a savings, or apply to an existing savings, each month for your emergency fund.
Make sure your expenses are within your income. If not, start reviewing, eliminating, and reducing those expenses to fit into your income limits.
A good budget is like a good friend. It helps keep you strong and steady.
By: Mark Stevenson
About the Author:
http://www.allaboutmoney.ongoingprofit.com
http://www.freewebs.com/freeclassifiedssites
http://www.freewebs.com/topmoneymaking-sites
http://www.freewebs.com/freeclassified-sites
http://www.freewebs.com/classifiedsavings
http://www.freewebs.com/debtfreelife
Audrie Lane
Budget Baller Show
paintballtechpb asked:
This show is for the BRAND NEW people on a budget. Here is what I recommend starting off with- 1) Buy a mask first, VForce Provantage 2) Buy the best loader you can afford. My favorites are Viewloader Eye Force, Vlocity Junior, Vlocity, Halo B, Reloader B. Then buy a good pack like NXE or CP 3) Buy your compressed air tank, I recommend a PMI Pure Energy 48/3000 to start off with. 4) buy your gun last! It ***** being poor, I’m poor too. Enjoy!
Dion Rod
How do you do a capital budgeting analysis on cost savings?
alloutoflovesolostwithoutyou87 asked:
I’m meant to do a capital budgeting analysis on the cost savings of a project and state the NPV and IRR of the project but I don’t understand what they’re asking as their yearly depriciation tax savings differ from year to year and the 5th year was split into 2 half years.How do you calculate the NPV and IRR of such a project?Thank you so much in advance.
Trinidad Broadaway
I’m meant to do a capital budgeting analysis on the cost savings of a project and state the NPV and IRR of the project but I don’t understand what they’re asking as their yearly depriciation tax savings differ from year to year and the 5th year was split into 2 half years.How do you calculate the NPV and IRR of such a project?Thank you so much in advance.
Trinidad Broadaway
2 Tips for Creating a Household Budget
It’s not a word that most people like to hear but the answer to the eternal question “how can I successfully manage my personal finances?” is, make a budget. It’s not the answer most people want because the word “budget” seems to create a feeling of fear in many people. Fear that they will never have any fun again because their money is tied up in a budget.
Fortunately this is far from the truth because creating a household budget is nothing more then a “cash flow plan” that simply tells your money what to do. And what you choose to do with your money is up to you but a budget helps you determine the best course of action.
When you make a personal household budget there are two important tips to keep in mind. The first is to just get started. This can be the biggest problem for most people for any number of reasons. But the reality is that money budgeting is not really all that hard and once you get the hang of it you’ll wonder why you weren’t doing it sooner.
The first time you go about creating your household budget keep it simple. A notebook and pencil are all you really need to get started. By listing out your monthly income and expenses you can start to get a picture of what your money is doing. Income is fairly simple, just look at your pay stubs or bank statements to get a good idea of how much money you have to spend each month.
The most important part of your new household budget is the expenses. You need to make sure you leave nothing out so it can be worth the time to go back through you check book register, bank statements, and receipts to make sure you get an accurate reflection of what you spend money on each month. To get started you might want to divide your expenses up into the following four categories.
1. Housing: mortgage, rent, utilities, property taxes, insurance, etc.
2. Work: transport, parking, work clothes, lunches and if you have children, day care.
3. Living: food, clothing, medication, insurance, etc.
4. Personal: entertainment, newspapers, magazines, alcohol, gifts and education, etc.
This is a good starting point but how you decide to categorize your budget is up to you. Just be sure to write it all down and then add up your income and expenses and see where you stand. If you are living paycheck to paycheck there is a good chance you spend more then you make and your household budget will show you exactly where that money is going. It is here that you can start making adjustments to your spending habits and start freeing up all that money that seemingly is going to waste very month.
The second tip to keep in mind is motivation. Most budgets get thrown to the wayside after a couple of less then successful attempts at the process. The thing is you won’t do it perfectly the first time, or the second time, but by around the third monthly go around you’ll have a better handle on it and you’ll start to see progress. This is a process that does take some time but as your financial situation changes for the better it will get easier to work that budget every month. As you begin to set monetary goals and meet them instead of wondering where all your money went you’ll see that creating a household budget is definitely worth the time you have put into it.
By: Andrew Bicknell
About the Author:
Fortunately this is far from the truth because creating a household budget is nothing more then a “cash flow plan” that simply tells your money what to do. And what you choose to do with your money is up to you but a budget helps you determine the best course of action.
When you make a personal household budget there are two important tips to keep in mind. The first is to just get started. This can be the biggest problem for most people for any number of reasons. But the reality is that money budgeting is not really all that hard and once you get the hang of it you’ll wonder why you weren’t doing it sooner.
The first time you go about creating your household budget keep it simple. A notebook and pencil are all you really need to get started. By listing out your monthly income and expenses you can start to get a picture of what your money is doing. Income is fairly simple, just look at your pay stubs or bank statements to get a good idea of how much money you have to spend each month.
The most important part of your new household budget is the expenses. You need to make sure you leave nothing out so it can be worth the time to go back through you check book register, bank statements, and receipts to make sure you get an accurate reflection of what you spend money on each month. To get started you might want to divide your expenses up into the following four categories.
1. Housing: mortgage, rent, utilities, property taxes, insurance, etc.
2. Work: transport, parking, work clothes, lunches and if you have children, day care.
3. Living: food, clothing, medication, insurance, etc.
4. Personal: entertainment, newspapers, magazines, alcohol, gifts and education, etc.
This is a good starting point but how you decide to categorize your budget is up to you. Just be sure to write it all down and then add up your income and expenses and see where you stand. If you are living paycheck to paycheck there is a good chance you spend more then you make and your household budget will show you exactly where that money is going. It is here that you can start making adjustments to your spending habits and start freeing up all that money that seemingly is going to waste very month.
The second tip to keep in mind is motivation. Most budgets get thrown to the wayside after a couple of less then successful attempts at the process. The thing is you won’t do it perfectly the first time, or the second time, but by around the third monthly go around you’ll have a better handle on it and you’ll start to see progress. This is a process that does take some time but as your financial situation changes for the better it will get easier to work that budget every month. As you begin to set monetary goals and meet them instead of wondering where all your money went you’ll see that creating a household budget is definitely worth the time you have put into it.
By: Andrew Bicknell
About the Author:
If you seriously want to take back control of your money you need to build a Monthly Household Budget. To learn more about creating a budget please visit the website Household Budgets by clicking here.
Steffanie Wulfing
In budgeting income, how much should a person expect to pay in taxes?
magicwriter65 asked:
I am doing a little mental excersize, and I want to know aproximately what percentage of his/her income a worker should expect to pay in taxes at the state, local and federal levels. If you could even give a break down, that would be better. For the sake of my excersize, this individual doesn’t own a house, but rents an appartment, and has a small car, which is insured.
Laverne Coger
I am doing a little mental excersize, and I want to know aproximately what percentage of his/her income a worker should expect to pay in taxes at the state, local and federal levels. If you could even give a break down, that would be better. For the sake of my excersize, this individual doesn’t own a house, but rents an appartment, and has a small car, which is insured.
Laverne Coger