Do you know where all your money is coming from and going to? One of the
easiest ways to get your head around your incomings and outgoings is to
spend a few minutes making a budget sheet. Don’t worry, this isn’t
difficult to do.
- First of all, get a piece of paper and draw up a table with two
columns. Name the column on the left ‘Incomings’ and the column on the
right ‘Outgoings’.
- In the ‘Incomings’ column, write down all of the money you have coming
in each month. For example, this might include your wages, any benefits you
receive, and tax credits.
- Then, in the ’Outgoings’ column, write down all the things you have to
pay regularly. This might include your rent/mortgage, any bills you have to
pay, your weekly food shop, or any childcare costs. Don’t forget to include
any credit card repayments you need to make or money you spend on things
like cigarettes.
- Next, add up the money in each column and write the two totals at the
bottom. You could use a calculator, or a pen and paper and your brain if
you can. Now you should be able to tell whether your incomings are
bigger than your outgoings, or the other way around. Do you have
money left to spare at the end of the month, or are you spending more than
you’ve earned?
Creating a budget sheet is a really good habit to get into. It means you’ll
always have a good idea of how much money you’ll have at the end of the
month. Of course, you don’t need to do a monthly one. Some people find it
easier to just look at what they’re spending over the week instead. To help
you work out exactly where your money’s going each week, you could try
creating a spending
diary.
Why not download our ready-made household
budgeting spreadsheet and start keeping track of your finances
today?
You can also use the handy
budget calculator over on
Jasmine’s site, MoneyMagpie.com.
Jasmine Birtles' top budgeting tips:
- Unless you’re exact with your budget it’s a waste of time doing
one. Make sure that any figure you write down is as truthful as
possible – no cheating!
- Always underestimate incoming payments and overestimate outgoing
payments so that you don’t get caught out unexpectedly.
- Use receipts, bills, bank statements – any information that’s more
trustworthy than your memory.
- If your outgoings exceed your incomings, don’t panic. There are
ways to cut down the costs on some parts, like switching
your gas and electricity suppliers.
Hopefully your budget sheet has given you an idea of your spending
habits. If you'd like to understand more about your incomings,
visit the
Understanding your payslip section >>
