Creating a budget is very simple. The difficult part is following the budget that you create. Here are some simple steps to create an accurate and easy to follow monthly budget.

Step 1: Input your income and expenses in a spreadsheet. Be sure to include money that you plan to give and money that you plan to save. (Giving should be 10% of your income. Savings should be at least 5% of your income).

Step 2: Input due dates for your expenses.

Step 3: Calculate your total income and expenses. Determine if you have extra money or if you are short on money. (If you are short on money, you may have to lower the amounts that you spend on hair/nails, entertainment, and misc. items).

Step 4: Print out your budget and follow it.

See below for an example.

MONEY IN:
Full-time Job: $1,500
Part-time Job: $500
Other income: $250
TOTAL MONTHLY INCOME: $2,250

MONEY OUT/DUE DATES
Giving (i.e. tithe, charity, etc.): $225
Savings: $112.50

Rent/Mortgage $500 / 4th of every month
Car Insurance $150 / 21st of every month
Health Insurance $100 / 20th of every month
Credit Card $50 / 15th of every month
Electricity $50 / 5th of every month
Phone/Internet $50 / 5th of every month
Cell Phone $75 / 29th of every month
Gas (car) $200 / When needed
Groceries $200 / Twice a month
Hair/Nails $120 / Twice a month
Entertainment $150
Miscellaneous (gifts, car repairs, etc) $100
TOTAL $2,082.50
EXTRA $167.50

** In your budget, feel free to add items that you spend money on each month.
For example, clothing, travel and shoes can be added if those items are a regular monthly expense for you.**

Budgeting Tips

1) Always budget money for miscellaneous and entertainment expenses. Do not cheat yourself out of having fun with your friends. Also, you always want to budget money for emergency situations.

2) Add due dates to your budget. This ensures that you are paying all of your bills on time. This also cuts down on late fees.

3) Save, Save, Save! Saving is extremely important. Set a goal for an amount that you want to save each year. Also, determine what you want to save money for. Some examples are a birthday vacation, a future wedding or even retirement.

4) Put your gas and grocery money on reloadable gift cards. This allows you to separate your gas and food money from the rest of your expense money. This way, you won’t find yourself scrapping up change for groceries or gas. You can keep all of the money for this expense in one place.

5) Give! Find a charity or a church to give money to every month. Giving not only allows you to help others that are in need, but it also makes you feel good.

If you have extra money in your budget, find a place for it. You can add it to your savings, give to another charity, or find a way to invest the money. Try not to spend the extra money on something unnecessary.

Don’t forget to check out this month’s Cash & Craft feature here.