Budgeting When Your Paycheck Varies

Written by Terry J. Rigg


Continued from page 1

Once you have determined your average monthly income you will need to develop your budget just as if this was your regular pay.

Here's where it gets tricky. You aren't always going makerepparttar amount you have budgeted. The only way to handle this is to save when you make more than what you have budgeted.

Here's an example:

You have determined that your monthly budget is $2000 per month;

In January you earn $2500. You will need to put away $500 of that money so that you can make up for any month that your income falls below $2000.

This sounds like a simple solution to a complex problem but it may not be as easy as it sounds unless you accustomed to saving money. It will take some discipline to make sure that money is there when you need it.

There could be a bright side to this method. If you are able to putrepparttar 111995 extra money away and you have several months that you make more than your budget you could end up with a sizable savings account.

When setting up your budget make sure that you don't underestimate your bills and expenses. This is one ofrepparttar 111996 major reasons many budgets fail.

By averaging your income it will preventrepparttar 111997 "Feast to Famine" approach to your spending. It only makes sense to spread your income out so that you can cover all of your bills and expenses every month.

Terry Rigg is the author of Living Within Your Means - The Easy Way http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/ebookadpage.html and editor of The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter and Budget Stretcher web site http://www.homemoneyhelp.com. He has 25 years of experience counseling individuals and families concerning their personal finances.


Are You Afraid Of A Budget

Written by Terry Rigg


Continued from page 1

If they want something that they can't afford then, if they are living by their budget, they won't be able to get it right now. However, if they plan their budget correctly they will eventually be able to get what they want and know that they can afford it.

Almost all ofrepparttar people that I have counseled overrepparttar 111994 years either don't have a budget in place or wouldn't have any idea of how to start one. This is one ofrepparttar 111995 main reasons that so many people are having serious financial problems.

Then you haverepparttar 111996 people that start a budget and within a few days or weeks it's just sitting in a drawer somewhere. Chances are thatrepparttar 111997 budget they had was too difficult and takes entirely too much time to manage. That's a big mistake.

A budget should be as simple as possible and take only a few minutes on payday to manage. Sure, it does take some time and effort to setup your budget properly but after that you just sit down on payday, write out your bills, make a few notations on your budget forms and do some filing. This is what it takes to stick to a budget.

The best part about having a budget is that you will always be able to answerrepparttar 111998 question we ask ourselves many times in our lifetime, "Can I Afford That". You will haverepparttar 111999 answer at your fingertips. Yep, sometimesrepparttar 112000 answer will be NO!

Terry Rigg is the author of Living Within Your Means - The Easy Way http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/ebookadpage.html and editor of The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter and Budget Stretcher web site http://www.homemoneyhelp.com. He has 25 years of experience counseling individuals and families concerning their personal finances.


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