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You will find a budget spreadsheet available for you to download and a link to a great strategy for budgeting at the end of the article!

Increase Your Wealth: Why Is Budgeting Important? Why Do I Need One?

Setting up a budget may be one of the few ways you can seize control of your finances before anything disastrous may occur.

Some of the likely circumstance may constitute a so called “disaster”:

* Not taking advantage of an opportunity when it arises.
* Not being able to care for family needs or emergencies.
* Not setting up a good basket to nest your eggs for retirement.
* A decrease in score, maybe even a decrease in credit grade!
* Bankruptcy in the horizon!

The key factoring in budgeting is making sure that you do NOT spend more than income earned! Having a budget could make the difference. A budget is simply an accounting of your income and expenses during a certain period of time, usually a month or a year. It involves looking at how much money you expect to earn and then determining what you can afford to spend.

Having a budget does not prevent you from spending money, using credit cards, or taking out a loan for special purchases. Instead, a budget encourages you to be certain you can afford what you’re buying and guides you through what lifestyle changes, if any, you’ll have to make in order to pay for it.

Having a budget can also help you save! These savings can be used as a down-payment, or as an emergency fund in case of a sudden illness, or for having to make significant repairs to your home or car, or serve to buffer if you lost your job. Ultimately, a budget encourages you to spend your money responsibly and in moderation.

Having a budget does not prevent you from having fun! On the contrary, a budget gives you greater freedom to spend the money you earn. Trust this advice: It is a far better thing to have control of your budget, than to have your spending control you!

As I mentioned earlier, most people enjoy buying things. Of this group, it may be of no surprise that most people also don’t like to keep tabs on their spending. So here are more reasons you might find it worth the trouble to develop a formal budget:

• A budget helps you prepare for large expenses, like those big bills that come once or twice a year. Car insurance is one expense that immediately comes to my mind.
• A budget helps you prepare for unpredictable expenses.
• A budget helps you identify items that are costing too much. You may be buying items that are no longer essential, or you may be able to find some essentials at a better price.
• A budget will ease the transition of becoming a homeowner. Getting past the closing cost is one thing. Wait until you get inside your new home and find the need to make some changes for your own comfort!
• Budgeting helps you keep control of your financial future.

Having a solid budget allows you to control your finances, rather than letting your finances control you. Without the planning and discipline required by a budget, you may be forced to take on too much debt, or you may have to deprive yourself of things you want. Budgeting forces you to look at your financial situation realistically, thus allowing you to make the best decisions for your future.

I’ve attached my personal Budget with example numbers in the spreadsheet. I hope that you will make use of it, if only to gain an understanding of how one may work. This is a more extensive one but it does the trick for me!

Budget Spread Sheet!

Here is a link to a very useful budgeting strategy that is great for STARTERS (Thanks to Kevin!!

No Debt Plan!

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