What's in Your Budget?

Sure, we've all seen or heard the "What's in your wallet?" commercials.  Still, an equally important question remains: What's in your budget?


Not many people could answer this question.  Why?  Because many people do not have budget in place.  There are several reasons why one may not have a budget.  Perhaps they are not sure how to create one, just don't know where to start or unsure of what to do with a budget (or how to use it).

This guide will help in understanding and getting started on creating and learning how to maintain a budget or expense plan.

What is a budget?

A budget (a.k.a. expense plan) is a plan used to decide the amount of money that can be spent and how it should be allocated.  It's purpose is to account for all available funds as well as itemize expenses.  A budget is a great informational tool that can be used in many situations and assist with everyday accounting.  It can (and should) be updated as changes come along, as they often do.

Who should have a budget?

Everyone should have a budget; no matter the income/tax bracket or indebtedness.  Each individual with income and/or spending as well as a separate combined household expense plan.

Why should I have budget?

It is important to create and keep a budget because knowing exactly how much money is coming in and flowing out will help you to:

*become and (hopefully) remain more organized.

*notice where changes can or should be made.

*keep up to date with bills and stay creditworthy.

*detect mistakes, identity theft, or potential fraud.

*save money!


When should I make a budget?

Make a budget now and review it often.

As life happens and changes occur, update and adjust your budget.  This may be as:

Income Changes
 -pay rate increase (promotion, career move, merit raise, additional employment, etc...)
 -pay decrease (demotion, job loss, layoff, cutbacks, retirement, etc...)

Additional Debt is Incurred
 -new purchases (car, home, laptop, groceries, gas, etc...)
 -emergencies (medical or otherwise)

Decrease in Debt/Obligation
 -lowered balance by a little or by a lot (monthly payment, principle payments, overpayments, etc...)
 -satisfied obligation (paid off balance, settled for less than full balance, etc...)


What do I need to include in my budget?

Everything. 
Seriously.  All incoming and outgoing funds need to be included.

Income
Every bit of income received from all sources should be listed.

This may include: employment (paystubs, W-2, 1099), unemployment (paystubs,1099), retirement (statements,1099-R), pension (statements, 1099), disability (award letter,statements), worker's compensation (award letter,1099), dividends paid, rental income, earned interest (1099-INT, statements), business income (balance sheets, receipts), rebates/refunds/rewards (1099), and several other sources.

Include the source, gross amount (before deductions), net amount (after deductions), and frequency.

Debt
All debt listed on credit reports should be listed.

This may or may not be painful, but all open accounts (including zero balances with available credit) need to be included along with the minimum payment amount, balance, and credit limit.  

It may also be useful to include the APR/Rate being charged and the opening date of each account.  (The use for these pieces of information and credit will be covered in a separate post- subscribe for updates and new posts.)

Expenses
Each household bill, any other obligation and all other expenses should be listed.

Expenses are different for each individual depending on a number of factors. Keep this in mind as you make your list of expenses.  Try to think of everything you do in a day.  Include every purchase made, toll paid, donation to charity and everything in between.  Many daily or monthly expenses are overlooked when creating a budget.  For this reason, it is important to ask for and keep receipts (even for cash transactions).  If you are just not good with receipts: keep a transaction register or notepad handy.  Cell phones are also a good plCollect information for full calendar months and/or years to get an accurate picture of your total spending.  

Assets
Assets are things of value that are owned. 

Liquid Assets can be converted into cash quickly and easily.

Non-Liquid Assets are not as quickly or easily sold and converted to cash.

(Liquid and Non-Liquid Assets should be listed but kept separated.)

**Some stocks, bonds and retirement accounts can be considered in either category depending on several factors

*These examples are for illustration and are not meant to be all inclusive.*

What's Next?
Now that you know what you need to have in your budget (your entire life - on paper) and have it all gathered in front of you, the next step is to put it all together into an easily readable format.

Subscribe or check back for the next segment: "How to Plan and Create a Budget".  

Got Coupons?

Happy Mother's Day!  This post is in honor and remembrance of my late Mother.  She was the most wonderful, caring, intelligent woman I have ever known.  And I hope that I can live up to her likeness.

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My mom was known as the "Coupon Queen".  Because if you saw her collection of coupons or the amount of stuff she got for free or at an extreme discount, you would bow down.  She was a very savvy shopper and got the most- for less (or free).  At times, stores would even owe her a credit and she'd leave with a full cart and a few cents or dollars richer.  

How awesome is that?!

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My mother taught me a lot about how to get the most- for less.  When I was a child, she would pay me (a small convenience fee) to cut her stack of coupons.  After they were all cut out, she would separate them into categories, then organize and file them by expiration date.  As mama made her shopping lists, she would review the sales ads, then consult her coupon box.  She would keep her lists and coupons together and place them into her "handy-dandy coupon wallet" (which was always with her).

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Loyalty/Advantage/Bonus/Store Discount or Points Cards were a given.  If it was free, it was hers and she would use it- always.

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Rebates were another of my mama's favorites.  
She would purchase things (sometimes things that we didn't really need) then send the receipts along with a form and the product UPC's off through the mail.  A couple weeks later she would receive postcards and checks reimbursing her for those purchases.  

Mom would often use her coupons on top of the rebates, which meant that the rebate coming back may have been for more than she actually paid.

Score!

 Free stuff and cash back.

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If something that was on my Mama's list was not available or out of stock, she would get rain-checks. Most places do not advertise that they offer rain-checks, but many do offer them if an advertised sale item is temporarily out of stock. 

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"Mama Don't Play That"
I learned fairly early on that Mama means business.  Long ago, if I was being a difficult little brat while we were out, my highly agitated mother would remind me (with a stern, yet fairly quiet tone and a signature look) that I needed to pipe down-immediately.  And most times, I would.  But sometimes.... not so much.   She had several tactics and techniques.  With them, she taught me to listen - eventually.  (I wasn't quite the world's greatest kid/adolescent.)

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I have to say, with what she had and all she worked for, my Mother did a pretty great job handling just about everything that came her way.  She has done so much for all of us, her 5 children, with a majority of the time, by herself.  Even though she is no longer physically here, she lives in our heart, our memories, and in our actions every day.  

My beautiful mother holding me as a baby.

I hope that my mama's lessons help you to save too.  I credit my mother in large part for my awesome ability to make well thought out and researched purchase decisions after shopping around for the best deal.

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Happy Mother's Day!

Hello.

Welcome.

I'd like to introduce myself.  

My name is Brandi Mills.  

I was born, raised, and still reside in Cleveland, OH.  

Photo by Brandi Mills

I am currently a licensed Mortgage Loan Administrator.  I have formally studied, trained, and worked in several areas of finance, banking, retail, and customer service.  I have been working since I was old enough to take employment.  I hold an Associate of Arts Degree and continue to educate myself through available resources. 

I have always been interested in numbers as well as "The Almighty Dollar".  Even as a child, I had to have money to count (whether play or real, though I've always preferred the latter), a plastic "credit" card, a register, and a file system.  

Math has always been one of my favorite subjects.  I enjoy researching and investigating to gain more information/knowledge on various topics.  I love puzzles.  Solving problems and helping people is my specialty.  

Here, I will share my knowledge and experience in an effort to educate, inform, and help consumers to save some hard earned cash.   I will also share methods that I have personally used that can earn a bit of extra money and even get completely free and discounted items and services.


I am not a licensed financial advisor (yet), so I need to make a disclaimer here:  
The information contained in this blog is to be used for informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal, tax, or financial advice or as a guarantee of any kind.  Personalized assessments should be handled by a licensed professional with full disclosure to individual circumstances.  

Also, I am not affiliated with the companies, people, websites, etc. that are shared in my blog (unless otherwise stated).  The information shared is based on my personal experiences and/or opinions and should not be taken as a promise or guarantee of any specific results in any other case.               

I want to let others know what I know, because I know that it can help someone, somewhere.  

After all, everyone could use a little extra something and Everyone Can Save!