Everyone always asks me where to start and that is always a budget. You might think “I don’t make enough to have a budget” if you earn any amount of money and pay for bill and living expenses you already have a budget, you are just not in control of it.
Knowing where you stand is half the battle. once you have your budget you can then change and tweak that budget to your goals and needs. There is no set budget for everyone.
How do I make my first ever budget?

1. First, write down your income, if you have a inconsistent amount of income low ball it or choose an amount that you can safely make each week.
2. Now start listing your expenses, in order from needs to wants. Needs – Housing, transport, food ect. Wants – New clothes, new toys and non essentials.
3. Once you’ve done that you need do work your way down the list and see how far your money really goes.
4. Track your spending, what you think you spend on work lunches and shopping each week might be very different from what you actually spend. take this into account and then you can start making adjustments.
5. Now what are your financial goals? Do you have savings? what are you willing to sacrifice to achieve them.

Needs, Goals and then last of all wants.

Prioritize what you really want.

This is your Starter budget, now don’t fret this is simply your starting point it might seem bleak or even impossible to do all the things you want to do with what you’ve got but remember we all start somewhere and we will fix this. One step at a time.

Now you have your starter budget you can look at ways to increase your income and to reduce your spending. More tips on those to follow!