#PERSONAL BUDGET BREAKDOWN HOW TO#

If you budget your money from the beginning, you wonвЂ™t feel a drain on your paycheck when the bills start coming in. The grace period before youвЂ™re required to start paying back student loans is a good time to cut credit card debt or save as much as you can. ItвЂ™s always important to have an emergency fund in place, but paying off high-interest debt is also a high priority. If you already have high-interest credit card debt, put a large portion of the money youвЂ™ve budgeted for savings toward your outstanding balances. While using - and paying off - a credit card regularly can help you build credit, itвЂ™s smart to avoid making any purchases you canвЂ™t pay for right away. Keeping it separate makes it harder to transfer money for unnecessary purchases with the push of a button. Consider moving it to an account not linked to checking. Once youвЂ™ve successfully met this goal, do your best to forget the money exists. Putting extra money away during good times can help you avoid using credit cards and going into debt when things get rough.Д®ventually, you want to save the equivalent of three to six monthsвЂ™ of living expenses. It will also help you weather unexpected financial storms.ДЄ layoff, a car accident, or a broken cell phone can disrupt your income and push your expenses over your budget. Setting up a saving fund from the start will give you the resources youвЂ™ll need to make a major purchase down the line. This will help you avoid tapping into your savings for impulse buys.

Once youвЂ™ve set a monthly savings goal, include that amount in your budget for fixed monthly bills and consider setting up an automatic transfer into your savings account.

If the total amount doesnвЂ™t allow you to save as much as youвЂ™d like, review your variable expenses to see where you can cut back.

Subtract all your monthly expenses from your take-home pay to determine your discretionary income, and then decide how much of this you want to save every month.

Use our Household Cash Flow Tracker to help you account for and add up all of your expenses. These are the areas where you can cut back on spending if you need to.

Add up your variable monthly expenses, including groceries, clothing, haircuts, entertainment, and gifts.

Start with your fixed monthly bills, including your rent, car payment, student loan, renterвЂ™s and car insurance, utilities, phone, Internet, and credit card payments.Here are four tips to help you separate your wants from your needs and set yourself up for financial success. From new clothes to high-tech gadgets, thereвЂ™s a lot competing for your hard-earned cash.

#PERSONAL BUDGET BREAKDOWN HOW TO#

When youвЂ™re starting your first job, it can be difficult to learn how to budget your money.

Personal budget breakdown