Simple Budgeting Techniques

Budgets help people stay on track with spending, saving and accounting. For people unaccustomed to budgets, the notion of developing and maintaining a budget may seem overwhelmingly complex. Others may be concerned that rigid budgets won’t meet changing needs or financial demands throughout the month, quarter or year. But budgets don’t have to be complicated or set in stone. Budgets can be both simple and flexible, depending on the techniques chosen to develop and maintain them.

Tracking budget should reflect current earning, saving and spending habits but if you are not sure what those habits involve, there’s a simple way to find out. Another technique to simplify sticking to your budget involves linking your monthly payments to bank accounts so that they’re paid automatically, with funds immediately deducted from the balance. Credit card spending can ruin the most well intentioned budgets because of their ease of use, high interest rates and fees. A simple technique for avoiding credit card use and staying on budget is to leave your cards at home. Trimming unnecessary extras from your budget also frees up money that can be better spent paying down debt, socking into savings account or diverting it toward long term financial goals, like a family vacation or energy efficient car. A simple technique to build flexibility into your budget is to include a miscellaneous “slush” fund in addition to other budget categories including housing, food, health insurance and transportation.