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Acclaimed financial expert Dave Ramsey has a budgeting plan of attack, if you will, that helps.
Hereswhat you should do.
Thats the month you want to work with even if you know you made an uncharacteristically low amount.
Its way better to start low than to start with an average, the Ramsey Solutions team wrote.
Because if you budget low, you’re free to always go up from there.
But overestimating and then having to scale back later that can put you in a real tight spot.
Write each of your monthly expenditures out.
Start with the four walls food, utilities, housing and transportation.
Then move on to other essentials likechild care or debt repayments.
Finally, write down the nonessentials like subscription services or entertainment.
During this step, youll get a good idea of whether any of this nonessential spending has to go.
The idea here is to assign every dollar you bring in aspecific and important purpose.
Step 4: Consistently Track Your Expenses
you should probably consistently track your expenses.
Keep a log of all your spending in real time.
And the same goes for whenever you earn money, the Ramsey Solutions team wrote.
Be sure to add it to your planned monthly income in your budget.
This means accommodating for the months where you did particularly well.
And remember, you still want a zero-based budget.
So, now you have to decide what to do with that extra $500 that came in.
You have to start anew every single month because next month wont look exactly like last month.
You could make hundreds more or hundreds less, depending on the nature of your work.
And always make your budget before the month begins.
That way, rather than feeling behind, you’re able to actually get ahead of your money.
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