Budgeting is something that everyone should be doing, no matter their income. The good news is that it’s easy to do and doesn’t take up a lot of your time, especially once you get the hang of it.
Budgeting is not just for business owners – it’s important for your personal finances as well! If the idea of making a budget for yourself stresses you out because you don’t make a ton of money, don’t worry!
Here are 4 budgeting tips for people who don’t make a lot of money.
Have An Emergency Fund
No matter how much money you make, having an emergency fund is an important part of making a budget. While listing your regular monthly expenses, you should also include a few hundred dollars minimum for unforeseen circumstances such as medical bills, vet bills, car repairs, calling pest control to eliminate pests, etc. Of course these things can end up costing much more than that, but having at least a small emergency fund is better than nothing, and you can always add to it as you start to make more money.
Make Adjustments
Making adjustments to your budget based on your income is completely fine! Just make sure you have realistic expectations when it comes to what you make and what you can afford each month. Over or under budgeting are common problems, so really take the time to sit down and make sure you are thorough when creating a budget for yourself and your family.
Eliminate Non-Necessities
Eliminating non-necessities from your budget can be really hard, but you can do it with a little willpower. Consider all of the things you spend money on that you don’t need for survival and probably wouldn’t miss that much if they were to disappear from your life.
For example: going through the coffee drive through every morning, eating out multiple times a week, television streaming subscriptions you rarely use. Many other things could be added to this list and it will differ from person to person, but the point is that everyone has some non-necessities they can eliminate to help themselves save money. The only way they are going to stand out to you is by budgeting!
DIY
There are many things you can and should try to do for yourself, and of course some you shouldn’t. When it comes to budgeting, this is definitely something you can do for yourself and not something you will need to pay someone else to do for you.
When you know your income isn’t super high, money stuff can be even more stressful than it is for everyone else, and the mere idea of making a budget might be enough to make you cringe. Hopefully these tips can help you to start budgeting in a way that works for you!