Save Your Money | Budget | A good idea of how much you make and where it goes

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A Good Idea of How Much You Make and Where It Goes

Figuring out your monthly budget is really just a matter of looking at two things: your income and your expenses. That’s all. No hocus pocus, no fine print. The trick is to make sure that you are looking at the complete picture, accounting for all income and every expense. The worksheets here will help you figure out your budget. Get a calculator, your checkbook, a recent paycheck stub, and recent bills or receipts. Fill in every blank you can in each of the worksheets.

We all tend to remember all the money that’s coming in, but forget some of the ways the money goes back out. Our worksheets might look long and detailed: we want to trigger your memory of those expenses. You’ll probably have at least a few lines that you don’t need. Skip them. And you might have an expense or two that we haven’t listed. Add up anything we missed, and put it in the box labeled other.

When you do the sheets, do you find that you can’t account for some of your money? Spend a month watching how much you really spend on some of the less easily defined things. Find out where the mystery money is going and revise the sheets as necessary at the end of the month. Whoever said, "The devil is in the detail," may very well have been talking about unclear items on a budget. Drive those little demons out. How much do you really spend on fast food? Gifts? Gas and oil changes?

When you really know where your money is coming from and where it’s going, you can start to get a firmer grip on it and use it better to meet your needs and goals.

Income

Regular income This is income that you get at least once a month. In each box, write the amount you receive every month.			Other income This is income you get at less often than once a month, but regularly. In each box, write the total amount you get per year.
Job #1			Scholarships
Job #2			Student loans
Parents			Parents
Other			Other
Subtotal A Add all regular income and enter the total here.			Subtotal B Add all other income and enter the total here.
			Subtotal C Divide Subtotal B by 12 to get a monthly subtotal

Total

Add Subtotal A and Subtotal C. This is your monthly income.

Return to the Top | Big Chunk Expenses | Monthly Expenses

Big Chunk Expenses

Big chunk expenses are those bills that you pay less often than once a month. (Enter yearly amounts. If your auto insurance costs $550 every six months, for example, put $1100 in the auto insurance box.)

Auto insurance
Home or renter’s insurance Write here how much you pay for insurance that is not included in your mortgage payment or rent.
Life insurance
Other insurance Do you spend money on other insurance like disability insurance or boat insurance?
Travel How much are you planning on spending on vacation this year?
Tuition
Birthday gifts How much do you spend on birthday gifts every year? Remember your parents, siblings, spouse, children, other relatives, and friends.
Christmas gifts Is your list complete? Check it twice!
Charities/Donations How much do you give to charities? Your church or temple?
Car maintenance and repair How much do think you will spend this year on car maintenance and repair? Include oil changes, tune-ups, tires if you’ll need them this year, and your best guess on unexpected repairs. Be honest with yourself. Put down a realistic number, not a too optimistic number.
Home repair and maintenance If you own your house, figure in any expected repairs and improvements (new roof, new furnace) and a cushion for unexpected repairs. Again, be realistic, not overly optimistic.
Automobile fees Happy birthday from the state: How much do you pay for license and plate renewal?
Property taxes If you own your house, and taxes aren’t included in your mortgage payment, put the annual rate here.	.
Medical and dental How much do you think you’ll spend for medical and dental fees not covered by insurance? Think of co-pays, prescriptions, glasses, contacts, and dental fees your insurance doesn’t cover.
Other Is there anything else you pay in one, two, or three installments per year? Quarterly? Add it up and put it here.
Total Add up all of the big chunk expenses you’ve listed above. This is how much you expect to spend this year on expenses that you don’t think about or pay every month.
Divide by 12 This is the amount you need to pay yourself every month in order to be ready for these expenses. Put this amount every month into a separate account and pay these bills from that account. Or keep a running total of how much you have set aside for these expenses and don’t touch that money for monthly expenses. Whatever you do, make sure you pay this money to yourself every month, so the money is there when you need it.

Return to the Top | Income | Monthly Expenses

Monthly Expenses

Big chunk expenses Put in your monthly total from the big chunk expense calculator.
Rent or mortgage
Electricity Put in your average monthly expense. Remember that it may be much higher in air conditioning season or Christmas light season.
Gas Again, you’ll need an average monthly cost. Especially if you’re paying for gas heat, this could vary by a lot.
Water Enter your average monthly expense. In many places, the water bill comes quarterly. You can move this to the big chunk expenses or leave it here, as long as you have the average monthly expense in one of the calculators.
Telephone Local and long distance charges.
Car payment
Gasoline
Other transportation expenses Do you use public transportation? Pay parking fees or tolls? Take taxis?
Medical Do you spend money monthly for medical expenses like prescriptions, treatments, or medical insurance?
Insurance If you make monthly insurance payments, put the amount here.
Student loan payments
Other loan payments Do you make any other monthly loan payments?
Groceries
Restaurants How much do you spend on restaurants, vending machines, or food stands?
Clothes How much do you spend each month on clothes? Don’t forget dry cleaning, laundry costs, and repairs or alterations.
Cellular phone or beeper
Cable TV
Entertainment Think of everything you do for fun: movies, videos, concerts, sporting events, video games, music CDs, whatever.
Internet access
Habits If you have habits that you spend on regularly, total them here. Do you smoke? Drink alcohol? Play the lottery?
Personal care How much do you spend on haircuts, cosmetics, nails, and other personal services?
Books, magazines, newspapers
Child care
Pets
Other Enter anything else you can think of that you pay for at least monthly.
Total expenses Add up all of your monthly expenses and put the total here.
Total income Carry down your total monthly income from the income worksheet.
The difference Subtract your monthly expenses from your monthly income and put the answer here.
Plus or minus? You want the number in the difference box to be a positive number. If it is, your income exceeds your expenses and you have money left each month for saving. If it’s a negative number, you’re spending more than you’re making. This means you’re borrowing money every month. Get some tips for improving this number in order to have money to save.