Using the Budget Planner
Budget Worksheet
The Budget Worksheet tab is where you are going to create
your plan for spending your income. This tab is divided into three sections:
Fixed Expenses, Flexible Expenses, and Future Planning. Fixed expenses are those bills that you have
little control over, such as rent or car payment. They are typically the same
for every month. Flexible Expenses are those that you can lower by cutting back
and using self-control such as dining out, gifts, and even utilities. Future
planning is money that you are going to set aside for investments, emergencies,
retirement, etc.
Beginning in 2006, the Budget Planner also allows you to
do month-by-month budgeting for those whose expenses fluctuate greatly from
each month to the next. This allows you to plan for additional monthly
expenses, increases in car payments or debts without effecting past or future
monthly payments. After entering in your budget for the first month, these
figures will automatically carry through to the end of the year. However, they
can now be easily overwritten by simply entering the new amount in the
appropriate cell.
Fixed Expenses
In the Fixed Expenses column, enter your budgeted amounts for each of the
following categories: Rent, Taxes, Insurance, Association Fees, and Other (misc.
housing expenses). Life Insurance, Medical Insurance, and Other (misc.
insurance). Car payments, car insurance, licenses and taxes. Also, debts such as
Credit Cards, Loans and Notes, and other misc. expenses are included here
because they contain a minimum payment even though you may, and should, pay
extra on these whenever you can.
Note that the totals for each
category will automatically be calculated for you.
Some items, such as Licenses/Taxes
under the Transportation category, may not require a monthly payment per se.
When this occurs, you should determine what you would be annually and then
divide this by twelve. This monthly allowance should be saved until the payment
becomes due and then you should have enough set aside to pay this in full
without 'borrowing' from another category.
Flexible Expenses
The Flexible Expenses section is where you are going to make your budget work.
If you are typically spending more than your income you need to cut back in some
areas in order to spend less than you earn.
We do not recommend that you cut out categories all together, such as for
Recreation (activities and trips) or Personal (hobbies, gifts, clothing). This
is a common mistake that people make when setting up a budget-- not giving
yourself rewards every once in a while will make you discouraged and fall off
your budget altogether. Give yourself an allowance for each of these categories
and stick to it!
Future Planning
Planning for the future should be part of
everyone's spending management. Even with the most careful budgeting there are
always going to be contingencies that you are not going to be prepared for:
medical emergencies, housing expenses, and even loss of employment. Without
money set aside for these financial obstacles you run the risk of running into
more debt and being worse off then ever.
Investments should also be included in the budget plan. Not only is this another
avenue for saving money but could also be an additional source of income.
Giving
A new section
for 2006, you now have a place to enter in tithes, donations, and other
charitable contributions.
Budget Total
Towards the right side we have included a Budget Total Box so that you can
easily see how much you currently have budgeted vs. your current income and the
difference needed to balance. You should keep an eye on this as you are setting
up and determining your budget to ensure that you are within your means.
Additional Income
Do you have
income that varies per month? Or do you receive bonuses or commissions
that you don't want to count as 'regular' income? You can now track
additional monthly income on a month-by-month basis. Simply enter in the
additional income received in the appropriate month's Budget Worksheet.
