It’s time to get creative when it comes to budgeting. Instead of listing the pros and cons and then explaining how to go about creating one, I’m going to experiment a bit here. I’m breaking it down into steps, like a recipe. Here’s my attempt at creativity (or a new perspective on budgeting):
A Yummy Budget Recipe
- Light that fire under your butt and Pre-heat your bank account
- What are you spending? Do you even know? Look at one month’s worth of spending and add it up.
- How much do you make? Add up all your income.
- Add a pinch of calculations
- Now that you know how much you spend and earn, what’s the difference? (This is second grade math, people.)
- The total is what you have left over.
- Dice the expenses
- Did you find that not much is left over at the end of each month?
- Time to dice up the expenses and reduce them to less than your income.
- Add a splash of savings
- Now that you have something left over, automatically deposit it into savings.
- Bake the budget for 3 months
- Reevaluate your expenses and income (or budget) after 3 months.
- Are you on track? Are you saving more now? Fix it if need be.
- Serve with humble pie
- Now that you’ve calculated income and expenses, you have an idea of what’s a “need” and what’s a “want.”
- Stick to what’s a “need” and an occasional “want.”
So my recipe isn’t an exact science, but neither is a budget. The bottom line is spend less than you earn, no matter how you get there!
How do you budget?
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Very creative twist on budgeting. You’re making me hungry…
@Matt – I’m hungry for money!
Very clever! Can I have a double splash of savings please?
@Hunter – I think I should have relabled that as a dollap or a scoop!
Love this recipe!
While dicing up the expenses, make sure you see where you may be “wasting” money! Late fees, overdraft fees, and bounced check fees can really add up!
@Grady – That’s so true. Making sure bills are paid on time and there’s sufficient funds in a bank account can save a ton of money in the long run.
What a clever post. I really enjoyed it. I think this should be put on everyone’s fridge. I hate the needs and wants conversation though- it is always so tough. No one likes limitations right?!
Very creative LH! But unlike food, the more you do this, the (financially) healthier you get!
Love! Very cute.
@Matt @Financial Excellence
I’ll second that.
Very creative! I like it! But I think instead of a splash of savings I’ll try it with a ‘heaping scoop’ of savings, instead.
@Denise – I think you’re right! A heaping scoop is much better.
What an interesting way of looking at a budget! Very clever!
I think I have food poisoning.
@Funancials – That’s funny.
You definitely make saving money sound yummy! Seriously though, what a great way to list money saving and budgeting tips in an eyecatching way and reinforce the concept of spending less and saving more. There are always ways to trim expenses, including those little treats we get from the local coffeehouse or the $1 section of our favorite store. Really enjoyed reading your post.