BUILDING WEALTH ONE CHANGE
AT A TIME
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To get back on the road to the place where you want to go, not the place you may be headed it is time to review your financial situation. Pull out your bills and write them down (see Spending Reports) and really look at what you're up to. When I sat down and really looked at what I was spending on food - both eating out and eating at home I was shocked! It was over 13% of my net income! According to Gail Vaz-Oxlade your budget should be broken down like this:
Life is further broken down into Food, Entertainment, Clothes/Gifts, and Everything Else. If you don't have debt repayment then you get to have more Life! This is just a guide and will vary based on your personal situation. You may or may not have kids, student loans, medical issues, etc. or be in different places in your life like going to school, retiring, kids going to college, making a career change, etc. All of these things (and much more) need to be considered when you're allocating your income. With ninety percent of marriages breaking up because of money problems, it's no surprise that many couples are in desperate need of help tackling their financial issues. In Til Debt Do Us Part, renowned financial author and columnist, Gail Vaz-Oxlade takes a tough-love approach to getting couples in financial crisis to face reality. How to pay off your debts (12, 24, 36 monthly payments) There are two options when considering paying off your debt - Make More or Spend Less. Often it's best to make more AND spend less. Is it time for a second job? Or can you give up cable TV? Maybe both? To get out of debt you will need to get real with your spending. I thought I was clear where my money was going - and I was to a certain extent. I knew where my money was going for housing, car, utilities, insurance, medical, etc. But there are many charges on my credit card that I haven't paid much attention to like magazines, business expenses (on my personal account), and food/household expenses. Now that I've examined my credit card/debit card spending (both with the online tools and also just downloading then categorizing all of my charges) I can better adjust my actual spending. I noticed I need to keep my receipts so I can even further itemize my spending between actual food, household items, and cash. This will be split out on next months budget to actual spreadsheet. While it's not important for everyone to do this as much I as I do, it is good to review your spending for two or three months with some degree of interest so you can better prioritize your spending. |
[Fix Credit] [Stop Living Check to Check] [Spending Plans] [Build Wealth] [Foreclosure] PORTLAND MONEY TRAINER... BUILDING WEALTH ONE CHANGE AT A TIME
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