Green's Budgeting Guide: More Green, Less Green
What better time to talk financial responsibility than during the
most wonderful time of the year?
Did you know the average amount of money expected to be spent this year for Christmas was $942? Which is probably why Americans spent $1 trillion this holiday season, with $150 billion on online retailers.
I can attest to the fact that nothing seems to be quite as rewarding as getting something that is on “sale,” ”limited edition,” or a “new release.” Yes, those quotes are there because, I am also fully aware of how marketing works in the world of retail, but does it stop me? 🤷🏽 I am a girl who loves to shop, whether it’s online, in-store, window shopping, for myself or for others. Don’t get me wrong, I 100% understand the fact that these are not needs, but most of these exciting items are things we desire for multiple reasons. And we won’t go down that rabbit hole.
Let’s chat about what I really want to talk about . . .how to budget so you can be responsible with funds that are coming in and out of your bank account, so you can feel comfortable spending money on those desired items because you know that you have the ability to do so, since all of those needs are taken care of.
What’s every one’s top priority in the hierarchy of needs? BILLS.
Now there are plenty of ways to go about getting your bills paid for on time. . .
I’m only kidding, but if you don’t get the reference above featuring Caesar from “90 Day Fiancé” where he spent $40,000 on a woman he never met, you can watch the clip below.
Okay in all seriousness, the rest of us have to find ways to budget our funds
and I have a couple great tools to equip us to do so!
First thing to do is to know when and where to pay these bills! Part of the battle is knowing how much you owe and what date to pay it! There are plenty of ways to organize this but I have one super cool tool that puts it all in one place. A place we don’t go anywhere without— our phone!
The app Prism helps you track your bills, while sending you reminders on an upcoming due date. Not only that, you can view your income, account balances and monthly expenses all in one place. It takes away the stress of logging into multiple sites to check and pay bills. The best part of this, it’s FREE to pay for all your bills through this app.
So what are you waiting for?
I want to be financially literate with Prism
If you’re a fan of doing some of that work yourself, love a good spreadsheet or just love using a computer over your phone, I have another solution for you! If you know my love for the Googs than you might have guessed it. Google Spreadsheets! (Or Excel too for those of you who have it )
WEEKLY PLANNER
This weekly planner has quite a few categories that help you efficiently organize all of your budgeting throughout the weeks. Some of the categories are: wages, interests, refunds, transfers or reimbursements, and a miscellaneous category as well.
MONTHLY PLANNER (Personal Fave)
This planner is quite simple as you can include multiple incomes, all your expenses and even shows the percentage of your income that you’ve spent so far. I love that it shows it in multiple ways, including the graph and table, making it easy to use and digest.
YEARLY PLANNER
This yearly planner is a perfect way to get ready for 2020. This one calculates the difference between budgeted and actual expenses on a monthly basis as well as the percentage of income for each major expense category, making it very easy to see where you are at with your expenses every month!
Oh and if you’re not convinced on using a computer over your phone,
here’s Wallet Nerd’s “7 Best Budget Apps for 2020”
One last thing I will leave you with. Here is a pretty lengthy but helpful document on all things you need help with when it comes to debt, including developing a budget, contacting your creditors, dealing with debt collectors, managing your auto and home loans, debt relief services, credit counseling, debt management plans, debt settlement programs, and more.
Happy saving and spending, whether you have more green or less green, because being financially responsible is always sexy.
Love you always,
Green
