I Need A Budget! Where Do I Start?

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I Need A Budget! Where Do I Start?

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April 18, 2012

Whether you are 22 years old or 52 years old, you are truly the CEO of your family finances. There are those of us that love to track, manage, and watch our monthly numbers, and others who would just prefer if the ATM told us what our bank account balance was each month. As CEO of your money, you will always need to maintain a close watch on your two personal financial dashboards, the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement. Specifically, the profit and loss statement shows us all of our net inflows and all of our net outflows to see if we can save on a monthly basis or we are spending more than we make.

For those people who say to themselves "it always feels like I am living paycheck to paycheck", the notion of putting together a budget will be crucial to your financial success. Since it's likely that you won't have an infinite amount of income, you'll have to closely guard what money goes out on the back end each month. I don't really like the word budget, since to me it has more negative connotations than positive ones. I prefer to use the term spending plan, which means building a solid balance of saving wisely, having fun today, planning for your reoccurring and on time bills, and making sure money is set aside for taxes so you don't run into an IRS problem. So, where do you get started setting up a realistic spending plan?

If this is the first time you have ever tried to put together a spending plan, there are some important documents you'll want to pull together. Here is a list to start:

  • Your last full year of credit card statements (Visa, MC, Amex)
  • Your last twelve months of bank statements or your check register (if you still keep one of thoseJ)
  • Any investment statements that generate interest or dividends
  • Your most recent pay stub
  • A list of potential expenses over the next year that may one time expenses
  • A list of any frequent flier points or rewards that you currently have

Generally, a spending plan will have two major types of expenses which are called committed and discretionary expenses. Committed expenses will be those expenses in the spending plan that are not likely to have much change over the next year and are harder to adjust month to month. These are things like rent, mobile phone, car insurance, etc. While you can shop around to get a better rate on some of these, they will be fixed in your spending plan. Discretionary expenses are sort of the black hole in the spending plan for most people. What do I spend each month for meals and entertainment? What will I spend this year on travel and vacation? Will I be donating money back to my college or religious organization? The last part of the spending plan is preparing for one time expenses. Normally, there are going to be three or four unexpected items that come up every year that add an extra expense. For example, you might get invited to a wedding that requires you to travel out of town. Your car breaks down and needs major repairs. These are the types of one time expenses that can kill a spending plan, and the main reason that building up some sort of emergency fund is so important.

With the list of documents that you have pulled down to start your spending plan, the best thing to do is to send us a request for a sample spending plan sheet, pull a basic one from the web, or you can use a site like Mint.com if you want something online. My recommendation is to start by using an excel spreadsheet and listing each of your bills one by one splitting the budget into the categories of committed expenses, discretionary expenses, one time expenses, savings, and taxes. As you go through your last twelve months of bank statements and credit cards, list out what you actually spent in the prior year. This will give you a great starting baseline for the year ahead. From that prior year of actual expenses, you can look at which expenses should continue as status quo, what one time expenses you know of that will be happening, and most importantly begin to plan out what you will spend on fun based upon your current income or the income you expect to earn.

If you find at the end of the exercise that you are spending more than what you'll bring in, here are some final questions you should be asking yourself. What are the things I need? What are things I want? If I can only afford to do one fun thing this year, what will it be? Can I shop these bills to get a better deal? Spending plans are never easy to build, but if you get in the right habits early it will help you as you build a more secure financial future!

Visit to www.oxygenfinancial.net to request a free consultation with the leading financial experts for people in their 20's, 30's, and 40's in the country.

Written by:

Ted Jenkin, CFP®, AAMS®, AWMA®, CRPC®, CMFC®, CRPS®

Co-CEO and Founder of oXYGen Financial, Inc - The Leaders in Gen X & Y Financial Advice

Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through NFP Advisor Services, LLC (NFPAS), Member FINRA/SIPC. Oxygen Financial is not affiliated with NFPAS. NFPAS does not provide tax or legal advice. This site is published for residents of the United States only. Registered Representatives and Investment Advisor Representatives of NFP Advisor Services, LLC (NFPAS) may only conduct business with residents of the states and jurisdictions in which they are properly registered. Therefore, a response to a request for information may be delayed. Not all products and services referenced on this site are available in every state and through every representative or advisor listed. For additional information, please contact NFPAS Compliance Department at 512-697-6000. PLEASE NOTE: The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the web sites provided here, you are leaving this web site. NFP Advisor Services, LLC makes no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these web sites. Nor is NFP Advisor Services, LLC liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third-party technologies, web sites, information and programs made available through this web site. When you access one of these web sites, you are leaving our web site and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the web sites you are linking to.

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Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. oXYGen Financial is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. Kestra IS and Kestra AS do not provide tax or legal advice. https://Bit.ly/KF-Disclosures

This site is published for residents of the United States only. Registered Representatives of Kestra IS and Investment Advisor Representatives of Kestra AS may only conduct business with residents of the states and jurisdictions in which they are properly registered. Therefore, a response to a request for information may be delayed. Not all products and services referenced on this site are available in every state and through every representative or advisor listed. For additional information, please contact Kestra IS Compliance Department at 844-553-7872.

PLEASE NOTE: The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the web sites provided here, you are leaving this web site. Kestra IS and Kestra AS makes no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these web sites. Nor is Kestra IS and Kestra AS liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third-party technologies, web sites, information and programs made available through this web site. When you access one of these web sites, you are leaving our web site and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the web sites you are linking to.