NoJuJu Finance Talk

Creating a home budget is an essential tool in managing your money.   Before beginning the budgeting process make sure to set aside enough time to calmly analyze your finances.  The following is a methodical approach to making an accurate budget that will help you better understand your money.

Begin by gathering all of your financial documents.  You should have several months worth of bank statements, savings accounts, utility bills etc.  Be careful not to leave anything out of the process.  You will use these later on to determine your monthly budget. 

Next you should gather up all of your income records.  Again, you want to make sure that you are including everything in your income figures.  Once you have all of your documents use them to obtain a good monthly income estimate.

Once you have complied your expense and income information you should create a detailed list of all of your monthly expenses.  This should be a list of everything you expect to pay during the month including incidentals such as haircuts, dry cleaning, recreational activities etc.  Carefully review your expenses paying close attention to items that can be reduced or even eliminated.  Reducing cable service, waiting an extra week or 2 on getting haircuts