Budget Your Stress Away

A budget is a valuable tool that not only helps you manage your income and expenses but provides the added benefit of stress relief. By reviewing and adjusting your budget often, you will gain control over your income and expenses.
 

Step One: Create a budget.

• Write down your monthly take-home pay. Or if you are out of work, your unemployment compensation. If you’re in sales­­—or work on commission—you may have to estimate, since your income will likely vary from month to month.
• List income you receive from any source, such as a part-time job, a tax refund, gifts, unemployment, food stamps and other types of public assistance, dividends and alimony or child support. Add the entries to determine your actual income for that month.
• List your fixed monthly expenses—the predictable, set amounts for the must-have items and services that you pay for each month such as rent or mortgage, car payments, insurance, telephone, cable, or Internet access.
• List your variable expenses—the amounts that change, as well as the expenses you pay periodically such as groceries, clothing, haircuts, property taxes, auto and homeowners insurance, and gas and electric.
• List estimates for occasional expenses such as birthday and wedding gifts, or holiday gifts and entertainment.
• Total your fixed and variable expenses and divide by 12 to get a monthly budget estimate.
• If after paying your bills and contributing to your savings, you still have funds, you can carry over the balance for the next month or use it for unexpected expenses. If this month’s balance is negative, look for ways to cut back on the variable expenses.