This post is all about budget tips for beginners!
You are going to need a notebook to help you organize your budget tips and then eventually budget your own income and expenses!
Whether you are a college student, a total beginner, or just someone who needs to get their finances together. How to budget tips are going to get you started at least! I am not a financial advisor at all and I am here to tell you just what worked for me during college, after college, and still now! I was able to budget to be able to buy my first house and then slowly buy furniture from my previous budgeting tips! These tips can really help you at any stage in life!
1. Set Money Goals – Personal Budgeting Tips
This is an important first budget tip because it gives you a great goal to look at as you are writing down your income and expenses. It is important to write out any goals you may have in the future, whether it be for the first house’s down payment, apartment furniture, education money, and the list can go on! You want to set short-term goals and long-term goals to help you plan out your vision! You want to keep going because of a specific end goal you may have! Trust me, money goals will never stop and that is why you need the best budget tips!
2. Write out Income – Budget Tip
Like I said before, you may want to grab a notebook to just have for your budget tips/goals/outcomes. This would be best to help keep your organized! I like to write out all of my income streams on one side of my notebook! If you have more than one income stream, then go ahead and add them all up. If you have a different income every month, I like to lowball it instead of overestimating it and falling short. It is just easier in the long run. This budget tip helps you also see where you are at for the month and if you want to stay at that number or not!
3. Write out Expenses – Budget Tip
This is where things can get a bit tricky and totally up to you. I like to write down my Needs Vs Wants and then go through my bills first. Such as, if I have a credit card payment to make this month I need to write it down under “Needs.” Especially because I like to pay off my credit cards fully every month! This is super important for me and my financial goals. Then I like to write down my electric bill, gas bill, and internet bill. Some of these can change so I like to round up from last month’s bill! ALWAYS overestimate when you are doing budgeting so you do not fall short, rather you have extra $$$! The “Wants” side is where I will talk about later on in these how to budget sheet!
4. Savings – Personal Budgeting Tips
This is where your money goals also come in. I like to save for seperate occasions and have a short term savings account versus a long term savings account. Short-term can mean a desk I want, new furniture pieces, and long-term is a house down payment, wedding expenses, and a car! These are just some examples so just roll with that!
Now, how much to save is ALWAYS dependent on your financial standing. I like the rule of 20% of each paycheck, but that is only because it is a good amount for me to save without me feeling like I am savings way too much or saving too little. I would love to save more as I do increase my income. So look at your lifestyle and what you can afford to save. This is a good moment for us to also underestimate your saving amount just to see how you may feel after the first few months. If you feel like you are able to save more or less, then adjust accordingly!
5. Leave extra money – Budget Tip
Like I have mentioned a few times, make sure you overestimate your expenses and underestimate your income! This way you are never falling short and are not stressed about it. I like to leave a few hundred in my accounts EXTRA to make sure I do not ever get overdrafted!
6. Multiple Accounts – Personal Budgeting Tips
This is a budget tip that may or may not work for you and your lifestyle. However, I really enjoy having multiple saving accounts and checking accounts.
Here is my breakdown of my accounts:
Checking #1: Bills/Groceries/Mortgage
Checking #2: “Treat Yourself Money”
Savings #1: Emergency Fund
Saving #2: Long-Term Savings
Saving #2: Short-Term Savings
This is how I do it and it works pretty well for me. On paydays, I like to go into my account and distribute my savings before I do anything else. Then I can pay bills, or whatever I need to, and then have my “leftover” money as what I can work with until next payday!
7. Treat Yourself Money – Personal Budgeting Tips
Treat yourself money is a budget tip that can really make budgeting feel easy and less stressful. You want to be able to get your nails done once a month? Set aside that money in another account and use it when you can! You do not have to budget just for needs! You should have “Wants” that can be fulfilled!!! Just make sure you are giving yourself a minimum amount of money every month that is fun money for you! This really all depends on your expenses vs income of the month! The percentage I personally use is 10% of my income a month!
8. How to Invest Savings Budget Tip
I like to have a High Yield Savings Account for my emergency fund. This is completely seperate from my investment portfolio, but I am still able to make a little bit of money from money just sitting there. I think it is still necessary to have 3-6 months of expenses in an emergency fund. Just google the best High Yield Savings Account at the moment!
9. Have a Budget Journal
Having a budget journal should be the first budget tip, but I just want to remind you all again on how important it is to stay on top of your expenses and always make sure you have room for any error you make! You do not want to live paycheck to paycheck and these budget tips are giving you a head start on your finances!
This post was all about the best budget tips!
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