Frugal Friday

It's Frugal Friday!

If you would like some frugal tips click on the icon above. It will take you to a website dedicated to Frugal Tips. From time to time I will post some tips of my own. Here's my Frugal Friday Tip!

Make a budget! Here's how I do it:

1. Figure out your monthly income
2. Make a budget page for each category of spending that you do. For example: Power Bill, Grocery, Miscellaneous, Medical, Medical, Insurance, Hair Cuts, Pets, Savings, etc.
3. Write the amount you usually pay out for each category & estimate what you need for the non-fixed categories. Subtract each amount from the total monthly income. When there is nothing left to subtract from, figure out if you need to tighten the belt in some areas to make it all go around.
4. At the beginning of each month add the amount for that category.
5. As you pay bills and spend money, subtract it from the category total.
6. Try to stay within the budget if possible. It's ok to move funds around in non-fixed categories if you need too.

My husband used to do all the finances and he was always complaining we never had enough money and he was always drawing out of savings. Then he became ill and the responsibility shifted to me. Not being one to live by the seat of my pants, I made a budget. Several months down the road, my husband checked the bank account and he was amazed that I wasn't drawing money out of savings on a regular basis and the checking account total was staying up. I think the budget has been the life-saver.