Managing Personal Finances

Managing personal finances is a chore worse than taking out the trash, cleaning the bathroom or washing dishes.  We hate paying bills more than anything, but it is something that needs to be done.  Like bills, no one wants to hear the word budget.

Managing Your Budget

However, managing your bills and your budget should be at the forefront of all chores.  First, every person who is losing sleep over their personal finances should be creating an initial budget.  In this initial budget all of your reoccurring monthly expenses should be listed.  These expenses should include your cell phone, cable, internet, the gym, electricity, storage, AAA, alarm system, water, sewer, garbage and gas etc.  After that, you should add monthly averages for clothing, food, medical and dental expenses as well as pets, entertainment, insurance, credit card payments and so forth.  Everything you would spend over the course of the year should be averaged and calculated into your monthly budget.

Once you add all of this together, you should subtract it from your take home income.  This is your income after taxes and deductions.  If you are well in the positive, than you are in great shape.  If you are positive but nearly breaking even, than you should know that if an emergency happens, it will put you in the red.  If you are negative, than you really need to take a deep look at your budget and reduce your expenses.  Do you need HBO, NFL Network, or annual ski passes?  Do you need all of that data for your cell phone or even the gym pass.

I realize this all sounds simple, but lots of people forget to take into account expenses that are paid once a year or expenses that are not purchased every month such as clothes or insurance.  You need to keep available money for these expenses, especially in cases of emergencies.

Financial Help is Available

If your budget is nearly in the red or if you are already in the negative, you may want to consider credit or financial counseling.  If you have a large amount of debt, then you should consider discussing your finances with a bankruptcy attorney.   Although they are labeled as bankruptcy attorneys, most experienced attorneys can provide you with a list of financial options.

If you want to take control of your personal finances, then you need to know how your personal finances look like.  This is where your budget comes in.  Additionally, there are professionals such as bankruptcy attorneys that are willing to give free consultations and provide options to meet your financial needs.