If you believe that budgeting is one way to get out of debt, then you should understand the importance of creating a household budget. A lot of Americans are dealing with debt – some of them are managing credit wisely while others are failing at it.
After the Great Recession, we have come to realize just how important it is to have a budget plan. It can help you control your expenses so you can put aside more money to pay off your debts. The extra money can even be sent towards your savings. It can also help you avoid a lot of financial dilemmas in the future. It can help you understand why you are in a particular financial situation and how you can get out of it.
Why do we need to cut back on our budget
Taking a look at how Americans spend their money is a great way to help us understand our financial habits. According to TheAtlantic.com, the majority of the household budget is spent on food. Now, the majority of our budgets go to housing costs. Among the things that grew in percentage in our budgets include healthcare and entertainment expenses. These details will all be evident in your budget and it is important for you to analyze them so you can determine the changes that you need to make in order to improve your financial situation.
In most cases, people who are forced to use a budget plan are those who have a need to cut back on expenses. The main reason for that is debt. We had to cut back on a lot of things because we need to increase the amount allotted for our debt payments.
In an article entry on ReadyForZero.com, they mentioned a statistic from Experian that revealed the average monthly debt payment of consumers. In 2010, the monthly debt payments of Americans range between $763 to $1,285. If the average household earns between $4,000 to $4,500, their debts take up 20% or so of their income. They only have 80% left to live on. With utilities, food, transportation and other expenses, how can the average American household survive?
This is why a lot of us create our household budget for the purpose of cutting back on expenses.
3 expenses that you should not compromise in your budget plan
But while there are so many things in our usual spending list that we can trim down, there are those that you need to exert caution when trying to cut back on them. There are certain entries in our budget plan that we should never sacrifice.
Healthy meals
The first is healthy and nutritious food. Even if the processed food is cheaper, it is not worth it to risk the health of your family just so you can save a couple of dollars. You still need a well balanced diet and that is something that you should never compromise. If you want to trim your food expenses, you may want to cut back on eating out. These cost a lot more than what you will spend if you cook your meals at home. And when you are out shopping for food, make a list of what you need. That way, you can forecast in your household budget the amount of money that you will need to ensure that your family will eat healthy food always. Here is a video from HowCast about how you can feed your family healthy food even when you are on a tight budget.
Doctor prescriptions
When the doctor prescribes you medicine or treatments that you need to get better, you should not skip on this just so you can trim your household budget. If you have to save, go and ask your doctor to prescribe generic medicines. But do not skip a dosage or take a lower one just so you can save. Get the savings you need elsewhere and not your medications. Your health is a top priority. If you do not take care of it now, it might get worse and cost you more money in the process. One of the best ways to deal with big medical bills is to avoid them by taking care of your body.
Personal hygiene
There are so many things that this can cover. For instance, buying a very cheap make up just so you can save on money and end up getting an allergic reaction is not really the wisest of moves. Proper hygiene is something that you need to be careful with. Try to get deals for toilet papers, and similar products but do not buy nameless brands without making sure if it is safe for you. In the end, it might cost you a healthy body if you sacrifice proper hygiene for the same of making budget cuts.
How to fix your budget plan if it is not working
If you are already implementing a household budget and you realize that things are still not improving, you may need to reconsider your budget plan. Here are 5 steps that you can follow to help fix it.
- Track your spending. In most cases, when your household budget is not working, it only means there is something wrong with your expenses. Of course, it always pays to take a look at your income too. Maybe you based your budget expenses on the wrong income. But even if this is the case, you still have to take a look at your expenses. Forbes.com and other authority sites have listed some budget software programs that you can use to track your spending.
- Compare your spending with your existing household budget. Once you have tracked your spending, compare it with your budget and see where you are spending a lot of money on. This will help you see where you should cut back on or where you should adjust the amount in your budget.
- Analyze why you are overspending. If there is a particular category that you are guilty of overspending, you need to ask yourself why that is so. Is it because you do not have self control? Or is it because you simply made unrealistic cuts in your budget?
- Do something to stop overspending. When you have identified the reason why you are overspending on a particular category, you need to correct that or cut back on something else to meet your budget limit. If you are overspending on food because you keep on eating out, then you need to cut back on that and opt for home cooked meals instead. Revise your household budget according to your plans to stop spending beyond what your budget dictates.
- Commit to the new plan and observe. Be disciplined in following your new plan and see if it works for you now. If not, then you need to go back to step one and analyze your budget plan once more.
Making your household budget work will involve a lot of changes in your habits. You have to look deep into your financial habits so you can determine if that is what is causing you to fail in your finances. Sometimes, it is not really the debt that is the problem. It is our own behavior when it comes to our money. We need to learn how to change our behavior and that is the only way that we can implement a budget that is effective in improving our financial situation.