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Seven
Benefits of Budgeting... Page 2
continued
2. Control.
A budget is the key to enabling you to take charge of your finances. With a budget, you
have the tools to decide exactly what is going to happen to your hard-earned money-and
when. You can be in control of your money, instead of having your money limit what you do.
This bears repeating: you can be in control of your money, instead of letting it control
you!
3. Organization.
Even in its simplest form, a budget systemizes, or divides, funds into categories of
expenditures and savings. Beyond that, however, budgets can provide further organization
by automatically providing records of all your monetary transactions. They can also
provide the foundation for a simple filing system to organize bills, receipts, and
financial statements.
4. Communication.
If you are married, have a family, or share money with anyone, having a budget that you
both (or all) create together is a key to resolving personal differences about money
handling. The budget is a communication tool to discuss the priorities for where your
money should be spent, as well as enabling all involved parties to "run" the
system.
5. Take advantage of opportunities.
Knowing the exact state of your personal monetary affairs, and being in control of them,
allows you to take advantage of opportunities that you might otherwise miss. Have you ever
wondered if you could afford something? With a budget, you will never have to wonder
again-you will know.
6. Extra time.
All your financial transactions are automatically organized for tax time, for creditor
questions, in fact, for any query which may come up regarding how and when you spent
money. Being armed with such information sure saves time digging through old records.
7. Extra money.
This might well be everyone's favorite benefit. A budget will almost certainly produce
extra money for you to do with as you wish. Hidden fees and lost interest paid to
outsiders can be eliminated forever. Unnecessary expenditures, once identified, can be
stripped out. Savings, even small ones, can be accumulated and made to work for you.
Jane Chidester is the
author of " BudgetYes! 21st Century Solutions for Taking Control of Your Money
Now!" She also conducts seminars and is a published columnist on personal
budgeting topics. Her website, Budget Central,
is a repository of information and resources on personal budgeting, financial planning,
and household money management - a complete budgeting education. You can contact her at Jane@TulipTreePress.com.
Credit and Debt
Calculators:
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• Should I pay off debt or
invest in savings?
• What will it take to pay off my balance?
• Should I consolidate my
debts?
• How Much Am I Spending? |
