How To Make a Simple Budget for Any Month

Everyone needs to know where their hard-earned money goes. A simple monthly budget will help you track how much of money goes into your bank account and how much comes out. 

Setting up a monthly budget may sound difficult, but it isn’t. If you want to know how to set one up, keep reading!

Steps for making a simple monthly budget

This is how I do it.

1. On a blank sheet of paper, I write down how much I make a month. This is called net pay (or take-home pay).

2. Below that amount, I write down my fixed expenses, like mortgage/rent or car payments. These are bills where I pay the same amount every month.

3. Next, I write down all my flexible expenses. These are things whose amount can change each month, like food, gas, and spending money. If I’m not sure how much something is, I make a guess. I usually round up that amount to the nearest dollar. If the amount is $59.37, I round it up to $60.00. It’s easier to add whole numbers.

4. After that, I add the fixed and flexible expenses totals together; and then compare that total with my monthly net pay amount.

If the amount you’re paying out is more than what you bring home, go through your expenses and see if there is anything that can be reduced or cut out.

Here’s an example. Say you’re over budget by $10. You’re going through your expenses and come to your gas expense. You usually spend $80 a month. How about spending $70 a month instead?

If you still need more money to cover all the monthly bills, you could look into a way to make some extra money. Like working extra hours at work or picking up a side job.

The takeaway

This is a simple way to find out what you have and don’t have during the month. It’s a good idea to do this for each month to get a clear idea of your spending habits.

If you want to know more, Dave Ramsey has an article on his website, Ramsey Solutions, that anyone can use. This is not a sponsorship. I just like what he does.

Just saying!

If you have tips or comments you would like to share, please put them in the comment section down below.