In this hardest of times, making both ends meet is a struggle in itself. This is why it is a must to analyze your budget so you can maximize your spending power, ensure that there is enough budget to spend for needs and wants, and guarantee that money is set aside for important expenses, as well as for emergencies and similar unexpected expenses.
Examining your budget may be challenging, but here are a few effective ways you can practice to effectively analyze your budget:
Compute your monthly income
To analyze and create your monthly budget, you must first compute your regular monthly income. This would include all the funds that are coming in regularly by the end of the month. In case of unfixed or commission-based monthly income, you can compute for the average and include that to make your computation more comprehensive. It is also a must to subtract items like income tax and payables, as well as loans or social security contributions, in order to compute your net income, or the actual funds you receive at the end of the month.
List down your monthly expenses
In the same manner, you must also list down all your monthly expense to help you set your monthly budget and analyze whether it is enough to cover all your expenses for the month. Your list must include all your fixed expenses, or those that you need to regularly pay each month. This may include rent, car mortgage, school tuition, insurance premiums, and the likes. Variable expenses, on the other hand, are those that may vary from one month to the next and must also be included in your list. Such expenses include gas, groceries, funds for dining out or food takeaway, medical expenses, as well as car maintenance and repair fees.
