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Create a Budget
Decide what you want to accomplish by having a budget. For example, do you want to:
- Save for tuition?
- Make higher payments on your credit account(s)?
- Purchase a new car and handle the payments smoothly?
Make very specific goals, and don't be deterred by the thought that you can't accomplish everything at once. If you focus on your goals one at a time, you'll achieve them one at a time.
Creating your budget is now even easier with the Budget Calculator. It allows you to experiment with different monthly budgets until you find a comfortable match for your income, expenses, and lifestyle.
When using the Budget Calculator:
- Make sure to enter the requested information for each field. (That way, you can accurately figure out your "Remaining Funds" after expenses.)
- Think about which expenses you can reduce.
- Re-enter figures as you figure out expense reductions.
- Experiment with different combinations of expense figures until you have the budget and monthly savings that work best for you.
- Print your final version and keep it for your reference.
- If "Your Remaining Funds" figure is negative, you're spending more than you're earning every month, which calls for a serious effort to reduce expenses.
- Even if "Your Remaining Funds" figure is positive, by reducing your expenses, you could substantially increase the amount you save.
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