Tag: Budgeting

Budgeting

Is an Emergency Fund Necessary?

KarenPopeWrites

Some may question the necessity of an emergency fund. After all, is it really necessary? How do you go about it? Does it need to be a huge amount? Here are some ideas and suggestions that should help answer these questions.

piotr-chrobot-278530
Photo by Piotr Chrobot on Unsplash

Is an Emergency Fund Necessary?

Generally speaking, yes, an emergency fund is necessary. What form it takes can vary, but it is a good idea to have an emergency fund. Such a fund can help you avoid high-interest debt, and it helps reduce stress. After all, life is full of changes – many of them sudden and not good – and having that “cushion” can help you feel ready and calm.

How Do You Go about Creating an Emergency Fund?

First, determine your expenses. Look at three to six months’ worth of living costs and count on saving that much in a fund. This can help you keep your standard of living for a time if you lose your job, or it can cover a large expense such as vehicle repair.

Then determine how long it will take you to save that much and how much you have to take out of your paycheck each month to reach that goal.

Once you’ve determined how much you need to save and how long it will take to save it, it’s a good idea to change your mentality to put payments into the emergency fund before you pay for anything else. If you can do it by automatic deduction, go for it – see if you can have a portion of your paycheck taken out and put into a savings account. Otherwise, make it a habit to put money in your savings first and foremost, and then take care of your other expenses after.

What If You Have Low Income?

Even if you have low income, you can set aside something each month. Try saving a percentage of your income, such as 5 or 10 percent. It may take you longer, but it will accumulate.

Does It Have to Be Huge?

In short, no. An emergency fund does not have to be massive – but it certainly should cover unexpected expenses. To determine the size of your fund, consider what sorts of emergencies you’d want covered by the fund. Remember that buying insurance may be a more cost-effective way to guard against emergencies, too – evaluate the scope, likelihood, and potential cost of possible emergencies and this should give you a clearer picture of how large your fund needs to be.

Budgeting, retirement

Very Basic Budgeting for Beginners

KarenPopeWrites

Stay tuned for a series of articles on BUDGETING over the next few days.

Have you been talking about a family budget, but aren’t sure where to start? Sometimes it’s good to start with the basics, such as the basic outline for a budget and the categories you want to include. Here are some tips to help you formulate a simple family budget.  This can be used for an individual budget, too.

aidan-bartos-313782
Photo by Aidan Bartos on Unsplash

Income

The first place to start in the outline of your budget is with your income. There will be some estimating here, no doubt; but make sure it’s estimation, not dreaming, say experts. The income area of your budget is not the place to write down ideals. Simply take a look at your net income over the last three months and estimate an average monthly income. Or you might have income that changes very little month-to-month; it should therefore be pretty easy to figure out your monthly income.

Expenses

Your next category should be expenses. It’s good to include enough detail that you have a grasp on things, but splitting your expenses into dozens of little categories will probably only frustrate you. Try to make your categories fairy general – “entertainment,” for example, is a more general category than “computer games, movies, cable, and DVDs” listed as separate categories. There will probably be more estimation here than in the income category.

As you break down your expenses into understandable categories and numbers, remember that charitable giving or any giving away of money should be also listed as an expenditure.

Actual Expenses

Estimation gives way to “real” numbers when you write down your actual expenses during the month. This is the last section of your budget plan. Keep a running tally of your expenses for several months, and then look at where you are.

Some Basic Principles

In budgeting, there are some principles that are considered basic. Here are some of them.

* Distinguish between wants and needs. This can be a hard one, but it’s vital for a budget to function properly. Beware of convincing yourself that a want is a need when it isn’t – you may just be trying to find an excuse to buy the item. Real needs are things like clothes, food, and shelter; but designer clothes, gourmet food, and a palatial dwelling are more like wants!

* Expenses should not exceed income. You may find yourself surprised the first time you do a budget and discover that you actually don’t make enough money to cover your expenses. If you discover this, you need to look carefully at your income section and see where you can increase it, and look just as carefully at the expenses and see where you can make cuts.