Budgeting and Personal Finance, Boring? Never!Budgeting is not something to be afraid of, or even to snicker at. It is a necessity, at least it should be for everyone who is earning an income and/or is helping to spend said income. The majority of people out there live from paycheck to paycheck. Scary thought. Are you one of those people, who in the matter of one pay period could go from having it all to having nothing? The destruction wouldn’t be that quick or brutal, of course, but it illustrates a point – what if all of a sudden you didn’t have a job anymore, no paycheck. Lets put reasons aside, let’s not think of why you don’t have a job, just of the fact that you don’t. What would you do? This happened to me, so I know it can indeed happen. I was a young woman on my own, living in an apartment with a roommate. I was working, paying the bills, ‘living the life’, as they say. And then bang-o! I had no job. No longer working, no longer able to pay the bills, no longer living the life. It pretty much sucked. Lucky I had no responsibilities. That is, no kids, no significant other; no one was relying on me, except me. You see it can happen and does to everyone. I had no savings, could not find another job, and to make a long story short, my mother ‘rescued’ me. (Now there was blow to the ego!)
What is a budget? Simply put, it is a plan for your money for a certain amount of time. Budgeting is a ‘guesstimate’ at your incomes and expenses. Why have a budget? As noted earlier, you never know what is going to happen. You can be zipping along and then bang-o – the wheels burst on your Cadillac and now you’re up a creak. My advice? Always carry a paddle! Or at the very least, have a budget worked out in which you plan for mishaps like new wheels. How To Build and Follow A Budget The first rule is realizing it is only a plan, a map. Most of the time you can stick to it, but sometimes you have to veer off – and that’s OK! Yes, you read right. It’s ok. Life doesn’t always go to plan. Sometimes, even though you have regularly brought your vehicle in for its tune up after the allotted kilometer, it still conks out on you. It sucks. But it happens. So don’t sweat it…at least not too much. ;-) Troubleshooting - It’s Christmas! Bells are ringing, children singing! Fa la la la la la la! Or perhaps it’s vacation time… Or maybe you just received a raise… Whatever the reason, it is very easy to throw caution to the wind and blow all your hard work.
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