Household Budget Expense Layout

More and more folks are taking action to manage their income in a more productive manner. It has become more and more difficult for the average person to make certain their bills are paid and their household is taken care of. If you are seeking a way to achieve more control over your hard-earned money, you might consider using a household budget expense layout. It is not as difficult or intimidating as one might think. All you need is a calculator (or excel program on your computer) and a willingness to take an honest look at your finances.

Begin by making a list of all your expenses for a two-month period. List all mortgage or rent payments, utilities, credit card debt, gasoline, food, clothing, gifts and donations, entertainment, grooming, regular medical expenses, medical and household and personal supplies, and any money that goes to savings. Round any amount under a dollar to the next highest dollar. Be sure to record everything you spend money, no matter how small. Make certain that every member of the family participates.

Once you have done this for two months, take a hard look at all the expenses and determine if there is anything that is not really needed and can be eliminated. Our society has encouraged wasteful spending, and a little here and a little there can really add up.

Next, look at all expenses that are paid occasionally-once or twice a year-such as insurance, property taxes, etc. By adding these expenses together and dividing by 12, you know exactly how much you need to set aside each month in order to have the money available to pay for these occasional expenses. As you can see toward the bottom of column one, this amount is included in the monthly expenses. It is wise to set up a separate bank account for this so that you are not tempted to use it for something else.

Once you have decided the amount you will spend, you are ready to create your household budget expense layout. You can use Word and create a table if you prefer to do your own calculations, or you can go to Excel, which will do all the calculations for you.

You'll want your heading to be personalized with your name, so that you take ownership every time you look at it. Make a space beneath the heading to insert your net monthly income (what is left after taxes and deductions are taken). This will keep the bottom line in clear view.

Set up the first column with the names of all your expenses, and the next column will list the amount allotted to each expense. Remember to add as a monthly expense the money that you are putting aside each month for your occasional expenses.

If you include the total for all your expenses, and have that subtracted from the net monthly income, your household budget expense layout will tell you exactly how much money, if any, you have left each month. Keep a monthly expense sheet that lists all the items on your household budget expense layout and enter each amount as you pay it. Include blank rows so that you can write in additional expenditures. It is now up to you to keep within your budget guidelines so that you avoid going deeper into debt, and make certain your financial needs are met.

One way that I found to meet-and exceed-my financial needs is by working in my own home-based business. My household budget expense layout now looks dramatically different-especially the section that tells me how much is left over after paying the bills. After considerable research, I found a company that guided me every step of the way. I no longer have to worry about "stretching" every dollar to try to balance my budget. I am more relaxed and happy, knowing my finances-and, more importantly, my family-are well taken care of.