These days we all have to keep a tight rein on our household expenses. One of the best ways to keep control of your finances is to use a budget calculator. This will help you see where your money is going and where you may be able to make savings.
Budget Calculator - Getting Started: It is probably a good idea to collect your last twelve months bank statements to make sure you don't forget to include all your quarterly and annual bills. Collect the records of all your income, including investment income and interest on savings. Your expenses fall into several categories - some are unavoidable, some are discretionary and some are unexpected. Your unavoidable expenses include things like mortgage or rent, electric and gas and of course food. Discretionary expenses are things like eating out or a day at the spa. Unexpected expenses include things such as repair of an essential household appliance or a new boiler.
Which Budget Calculator? When you have got your paperwork to hand it is time to find a budget calculator. There are loads of budget calculators on the internet - have a look at a few and see if there is one suitable for your needs. If you can't find one that looks right for you, you could set up a personalised one on a spreadsheet. Go through your bank statements and make a list of all your monthly, quarterly and annual bills. Then add one third of the quarterly and one twelfth of the annual bills to your monthly column. Next list all your monthly income in the same way. Transfer the information to your chosen budget calculator and see where your money is going.
Go through your discretionary expenses and see if there is anything you could do without - eating out once a month instead of once a week, walking to work rather than using the car every day or taking a packed lunch instead of going to the café. If your budget calculator shows that you do not appear to be able to live within your budget, don't despair - there are steps you can take.
Adjust your Budget: Firstly your mortgage - you have several options here. You could increase the term of your mortgage, making your monthly payments lower. You could take a further advance and use the money to pay off your much more expensive credit cards - it is important to get rid of your most expensive debts first. Next check that you are with the cheapest suppliers for gas, electric, telephone and internet - it's not much trouble to switch and you could save a lot of money.
Food shopping - always make a list, it's too easy to pick up things you don't really need. Consider buying different brands if they are cheaper, instead of just picking up the one you always get. You will find that fruit and vegetables are generally cheaper from a market or a greengrocer - and you have the added advantage of only buying what you want (instead of a pack of three lettuces for instance). Hope this has helped with your budget calculations.
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