Page 23 - How To Set Up a Family Budget The Easy Way
P. 23
Positive result: Income more than expense – you can either spend or save!
Negative result: Expense more than income – spending more than you have, you might have to
cut costs and try to save some money to cover the bases!
Whichever of these outcomes you are faced with, knowing is better than not knowing. For
some this might bring little comfort and relief, but people in general, find this exercise useful to
make an unknown more measurable. It makes us both accountable and wanting to act, faster and
that sense of urgency and momentum is just what the family budget process needs!
Finding ways to balance your budget
Earlier it was stated that a good budget would mean income would be equal to expenses.
Having a small surplus is no guarantee by any means. You might need this to cover and
unexpected rise in oil and gas prices or a larger grocery bill due to a party you are hosting at
home.
This almost brings the concept home of a sliding scale, flexibility and discretionary buffer
categories in budgets to absorb this give-and-take roller-coaster ride that is family budgeting.
The good news is whether you are in the red so to speak or just scraping by, managing to save
nothing or maybe a little, or even a lot, this process will highlight areas where your attention is
needed right away. It gives direction and purpose and assists families to formulate their spending
plans, goals, re-visit their needs, dreams and goals.
Balancing the budget is no easy task. Here are a few steps that we can suggest to make your
life a little easier:
Find out how much you need to cut from your expenses
Decide you can make cuts in your expenses and be detailed
Re-balance your income and expenses after you've made these cuts
A word to the wise: Do not make cuts in your budget that you cannot live with in real life. It is
extremely important to remain realistic and keep your real-time expenses and living realities in
the forefront of your mind when you make these decisions.
23
