This Is How To Use A Budget Planner Right?

Have you used a budget planner to manage and keep track of your income and expenses? Did you follow it judiciously or did you end up abandoning it because it just didn’t seem to fit into your real life? If you’ve ever been in the latter dilemma, then this article is for you.

The purpose of a budget plan is to tell your money where to go before it ever even gets to your hand, and this helps with the proper management of your resources.

Instead of giving up on budgeting, read this article to learn how to correctly use a budget planner.

What is a budget planner?

A budget planner is a chart or worksheet (whether manual or digital) that helps you keep track of your income and expenditures so that you can easily evaluate your finances and make the best use of any money that gets into your hands.

What is the 50-20 30 budget rule?

The 50 20 30 budget rule advocates for you to spend 50% of your income on your needs, 30% of your income on your wants and desires, and then save the remaining 20%.

How does the 70 10 10 10 budget rule work?

It’s very simple. The 70 10 10 10 budget rule recommends that 70% of your income is for your expenses, 10% goes to your savings, 10% is set aside for investments and the remaining 10% is what you give out for charity work.

What is the 10 20 30 budget rule?

Given the fact that we’re dealing with a whole (100%), 40% of your income after taxes will be spent on the basic necessities of life such as food and housing.

Then coming to the 10 20 30 budget rule: 10% is for charitable giving, 20% is directed to savings and 30% is for meeting financial goals.

How to use a budget planner right

Many people get discouraged about budgeting because they probably plan their budgets mindlessly. What I mean by this is that they don’t necessarily assess their day-to-day expenses before making plans.

Consequently, they end up discouraged, feel that maybe budgeting is not for them and they give up on budgeting together.

The few points listed below will show you how to correctly use a budget planner and make the most of your financial goals.

Choose the budget planner that’s right for you.

Just because something is working for someone doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you too. Choose a pre-made planner that suits your personality, temperament, and lifestyle. There are so many types and brands of financial planners in the market. Check Amazon for some recommendations and remember to read the reviews before purchasing to get first-hand knowledge from other users.

Honestly review your income.

Make your plan with the money that remains in your bank accounts after paying your taxes, your 401k, and retirement (if you take a percentage from your income for this). You obviously should not use unrealistic money to make a budget.

Account for your fixed bills and expenses.

This includes rent, cell phone, and utility bills. Make sure you budget for your basic necessities of life first.

Make room for emergency funds and miscellaneous.

Life happens and it’s good to set some money aside for a rainy day. Take note that hunger is not an emergency and that means you should not take out your emergency money to eat out at a restaurant.

Make every single dollar count.

After allocating money for your bills and for emergencies, ensure you account for the money that remains. Every single dollar must be put to proper use. This can happen by investing it in real estate, buying shares, or other ventures that promise future profit. Be sure to do your diligent research before investing your money.

How do you budget as a beginner?

For someone who is new to budgeting, I’d advise that you take it easy on yourself. Make a budget plan that you can conveniently and consistently adhere to so that you’re not overwhelmed and discouraged. The above points on “How to use a budget plan right” will be of immense help to you.

What are the first 5 things you should list in a budget?

Bills and fixed expenses
Savings
Investments
Charitable giving
Emergency funds
Debt

All the above should be given priority over your wants and desires. If there’s still so much money left after you’ve planned for these, then you can attend to your cravings.

What are 3 simple things you can do now to start your own budget?

1. Get a pre-made budget planner.

Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to figure out every single thing that should be on the planner yourself.

There are ready-made planning books that you could purchase from your local bookshop that would do a superb job of outlining the important things you should budget for. And what’s more, these journals and planners are very aesthetic too.

2. Find a digital Application that works for you.

In case you’re more techy and probably don’t like writing down stuff in notes, then you should make use of a digital planner. This could be an app on your phone or Excel spreadsheet.

3. Get a financial adviser.

Or a financial mentor. Someone who is more experienced than you in handling finances, someone who is financially intelligent. They can offer you professional advice, and investment tips, and keep you accountable.

How to make your own budget planner

In order to create your own personalized budget planner, head over to Etsy and get some cheap printables. You can also use a design app such as Canva or Picmonkey. Customize it to your taste and to suit your preferences and voila! Once you’ve created your planner, here are a few other steps to guide you:

You have to account for all your earnings. Don’t budget with money that you don’t even have.
Make a realistic plan. Something that will be easy for you to adhere to.
Evaluate your budget plan regularly. Don’t keep the budget plan where you won’t see it. If you can’t see it every day, you probably won’t even follow it. Visibility is key.

How do you create a budget spreadsheet?

You can do this by using any Spreadsheet program of your choice, Microsoft Excel is the most commonly used.

Create the columns, and fill in the spaces for the variables you want – Net income, Bills such as electricity, cellphone, rent; Savings, Insurance, Investments, Emergency, Retirement, etc.

Create a cell that will help in the calculations (you would need to input formulas for this).

There are also many YouTube videos you can watch that will help you with this.

Conclusion

This free guide has everything you need to know about budgeting. Follow the steps here, take action on these things and you’ll be on your way to becoming more organized in your financial life.