For the next few posts, we will be focusing on money management and budgeting. It is important to recognize the importance of managing the monies you receive so that you may live within your means and have little to no debt.
One of the first things we learn in life is the power of the dollar (or whatever your currency is). Some things in life may be free, but the majority of things we need to live costs money. As the cost of living everywhere seems to rise, it is important to know your ratio of how much your bring in and how much you spend.
The first step in managing your money is create a budget and stick to it. There is nothing worse that having more month than money at the end of the month, so if you don’t have a budget yet, or need a new one, here are a few budget templates you can download now:
- Monthly Budget Worksheet
- Budget Forms from Dave Ramsey Solutions
- Home Budget Worksheet for MS Excel
- Budget Worksheet from Consumer.gov
If you prefer to use an app on your phone instead, here are a few:
- Mint.com – Available for Android, iPhone and desktop. (Free)
- YNAB – Available for Android, iPhone and desktop. (Small Fee)
- Wally – Available for Android, iPhone and desktop. (Free)
- PocketGuard – Available for Android, iPhone and desktop. (Free)
We also have homework for you (yes, homework!). We found a great article on NerdWallet we would like you to read. It speaks about a ratio: 50/30/20. We won’t tell you what those numbers mean, so you will have to look into them yourself. Here is the link to your homework article.
Do you have an online budget or a budgeting app that you love? Or do you have a resource you would like us to include in a new post? Let us know!