I want to start budgeting on the July 20th, 2020. By really focusing and do what I can afford on my budget that I set. Any Ideas or pointers will be greatly appreciate. I know I can do it.
It's hard when you live paycheck to paycheck
@Wanda D what you can do 1st - make a list of all of your expenses (rent, utilities, car note & insurance, etc) of what you know you have to pay the same every month. And, then up under that write down your miscellaneous expenses (cable, cell phone, entertainment, eating out (door dash, Uber eats, etc). Now, once you have done that look over your needs vs. your wants. See where you can start to trim away some of unnecessary spending.
2nd - once you see where you can cut back and start saving. Then you should open up an online savings account ( direct deposit out of your pay ck or you can transfer the amount over to it) however it works for you and that way you won't be tempted to touch it.
There is this woman names Tiffany The Budgetista and she is really insightful with help people how to start saving. You can check her out on all the social media platforms.
I agree it’s hard to budget when you live paycheck to paycheck and have debts. I am a member of the Live Richer Academy with Tiffany The Budgetista. I’m trying to be diligent and use the tools she has available.
You need to know your “why” (Are you trying to get out of debt, save for retirement, or pay for a house). I do a zero based budget where all my dollars have a job. First you need to know your net monthly income, then you need to list out all your expenses, and finally you need to make your budget fit the goals you have for your life.
I would say find a budget that works for you. A zero-based budget has worked best for me but this means that 1) I assign every dollar a job at the beginning of the month and 2) I track down every single expense and by doing this I know whether I have enough for eating out or other fun things. There is also the 50/30/20 budget. This is a more lax way to budget. 50% of your income goes to needs (bills, groceries, insurance, etc). 30% goes to wants and 20% goes to savings. You can tweak the percentages to fit your lifestyle but would recommend you keep savings at least at 20%. There is also the envelope method. I don't personally like this one because I don't like dealing with cash. Everything I do is with my debit or credit card.
Other tips:
-Automate savings and investments.
-Count savings and investments as a bill and "pay" those first. That way you get those out of the way first and what's leftover can be your fun money.
-Always make sure you set aside some fun money. It makes budgeting bearable.
-Open a high yield savings account (HYSA). I have one with Ally and love their buckets feature.
-Track ALL of your expenses. Tedious but super useful
I'm not one to stick to any strict budget or strict anything, I'm more freelance person. I just tried to do the best I can and pay off as best I can at that time.
