The Importance of a Budget

Budget, for some people it’s consider a four letter word. But budgeting doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming. I spend about an hour a month on our budget tops. It did take longer to set it up, but once that’s done, your set.

If you find you have more month at the end of your money, I’m sure you could benefit by having a budget.

I think having a budget is very important for every family or household. Using a budget, can and will save you money. You might wonder, how will having a budget save me money?

Plan Ahead for Expenses

The first thing that comes to my mind, in ways you can save with a budget, is planning ahead for all your known expenses. If you know what bills are going to be due, you can have the money set aside and be ready to pay when the bill comes. When you pay bills on time, you avoid late fees.

When you pay bills late, you end up paying a late fee. Some of those late fees can be really high. Having the money set aside to pay the bill when it comes, helps you avoid the late fees. If you are constantly late on bills, that can lower your credit score. Which means when you do need to borrow money for things like a house, you might end up paying a higher interest rate, or higher fees. Having a budget and sticking too it can avoid all those unnecessary charges.

Here’s a real life example

Let’s say you see a good deal on some item you really want, but forget that the water bill, that only comes every other month, is due this month too. If you purchase your item you really want, but then don’t have the money for the water bill what happens?

You either borrow the money from a credit card, which will cost you in interest, if you don’t pay it off right away. Or you end up paying a late fee. By having a budget you can be prepared and know where your money is going for that month. Avoiding any situations like the one I just described.

There is Freedom in Having a Budget

Having a budget to follow doesn’t have to be limiting, it can give you freedom to afford the things you really want. All while paying for the bills you already have. It just takes some planning and over the next few posts I’ll be showing you how to set up a realistic budget you can live with.

Are you ready to get started on your way to freedom? Head over to the next post, setting up a budget part one to get started!

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