Somebody asked me the other week “what is the perfect budget?” That’s an excellent question and there really is no right or wrong answer. Just as, individually, we’re all different, so too are our hopes and dreams, our lifestyles and our needs and wants.
So, what might be the perfect budget for one person might not necessarily work for somebody else. Even though we might work at the same place as our friend, and earn the same money each week, because our home lives are very different so too our budgets will be different.
There are many factors to consider in a budget: how much debt do I have? How much are my weekly, monthly and annual bills? How much income do we receive each week? What are our financial priorities? What savings would we like to put aside for the future? What will our needs be in a years time? In five years time? In a decade? Possibly the biggest question we must ask ourselves is: do we have enough income to sustain the life we’re leading now and into the future?
Sadly, for so many of us, we don’t have an income problem but a spending problem. The perfect budget has many facets. It has a portion to repay our debt as soon as possible, without choking the finances. There is also a portion for day to day bills which enables us to pay these accounts on time without stress. And, of course, there is also a portion that puts a little aside for ‘rainy days’. So many of us have no savings and therefore have to borrow money for the times when disaster strikes.
So, what might be the perfect budget for one person might not necessarily work for somebody else. Even though we might work at the same place as our friend, and earn the same money each week, because our home lives are very different so too our budgets will be different.
There are many factors to consider in a budget: how much debt do I have? How much are my weekly, monthly and annual bills? How much income do we receive each week? What are our financial priorities? What savings would we like to put aside for the future? What will our needs be in a years time? In five years time? In a decade? Possibly the biggest question we must ask ourselves is: do we have enough income to sustain the life we’re leading now and into the future?
Sadly, for so many of us, we don’t have an income problem but a spending problem. The perfect budget has many facets. It has a portion to repay our debt as soon as possible, without choking the finances. There is also a portion for day to day bills which enables us to pay these accounts on time without stress. And, of course, there is also a portion that puts a little aside for ‘rainy days’. So many of us have no savings and therefore have to borrow money for the times when disaster strikes.