Most people are used to running their household affairs and their businesses with small sums of
money on a day-to-day basis. They do not plan their expenses well in advance nor do they take a
step back to set goals and priorities for the near and far future. In this way, they spend money
inefficiently without considering the concerns of their household and business.
As we approach the end of the year and the festive period, a lot of us will like to “flex” our lives
but there is one thing I would love you to do this period, BUDGET! Budget for everything you
will be spending because we all know January is not always an easy month financially because
we must squander most of our income during this period.
A budget is important for taking control of your money. Without a budget in place, it's easy to
overspend and end up in debt early in the year and you would have to turn to credit cards or
loans to fill the gaps. I don’t think you will want to start the New Year with debts.
You can experiment with various budgeting methods to find one that works best for you. Just
remember that budgets are not “set it and forget it.” Regularly review your budget to adjust as
needed, should your income or expenses change.
What is a budget: A budget is a summary of the money you expect to come in (income) and the
money you plan to spend (expenses) over a specific period of time. It is also necessary to
distinguish whether money is coming in regularly (regular income such as salary or rent) or not
(irregular income such as birthday gifts).
It is a plan for how you will spend your income to cover all the different expenses during a
certain period of time such as a week or a month. A budget is useful for everyone regardless of
how much you earn or what your financial situation is.
Making the budget is the easy part. The most important thing is to stick to it! For
this, you need to compare your budget regularly with what you actually earn and
spend and see if you are following your budget.
Do you want to know how to plan and stick to a budget? Do well to stick around for this.
