Do you have a budget?

I grew up urban, we’ll say, thus budgets weren’t even discussed, let alone implemented. I was just made aware of what we could and couldn’t afford – that’s not budgeting. So again, do you have a budget? Not a, “I’ll only spend $500.00 this month,” budget but a detailed budget down to the dollars and cents? If not, you need to do so. If you don’t track specifically where your money is going, it’s essentially an untamed bank account. It has no restrictions and you spend money on whatever, whenever, however and as an adult that’s a terrible plan, well it’s not really a plan at all – that’s the problem. Here’s my advice.

Utilize the Excel spreadsheet entitled ‘Personal Monthly Budget.’ This template allows you to detail all your monthly expenses and of course, you can edit it as needed. There’s a section for each of your most common monthly needs ie. housing, entertainment, transportation, insurance, loans, food etc. It even has a place for your savings and investment account details as well. This spreadsheet may seem a bit extra but, if you want to be wealthy it’s imperative that you know what your money is being spent on and how much money you are investing or saving as well.

You can also use the ‘Business Monthly Budget’ template to detail your monthly business expenses if you are an entrepreneur.

We’re adults now. We must prioritize our spending and our investments. Simply making a certain amount of money every two weeks, paying bills and hoping you have a enough money left over is not only reckless but childish. Grow up. Plan. Be proactive not just reactive.

One more time for those in the back.

Be proactive not just reactive.

It may be best for you to implement the 50/30/20 Rule, more on that below!

You can budget; it’s a learned skilled. You got this!

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