Create the Habit of Budgeting Your Money Effectively

Today I want to encourage you to get into the habit of budgeting your money effectively.

If you want to improve your cash flow, you need to get into a regular routine of knowing what is happening to your money – this starts with setting up a basic budget.

A budget will help you manage your money better.

If you budget effectively, you should improve your cash flow. Without a budget, you will not know what is happening with your financial affairs.

You need to create a budget and examine it monthly…

• Having a BUDGET is all about planning and managing your finances.
• Without a budget, you may be left in serious trouble as you will have no control over your money management. I suggest that you form a good habit of setting up a BUDGET. This will ensure that you have enough income to cover your expenses.
• Within a budget, you need to weigh up expected INCOME against anticipated EXPENSES.
• A budget can also be used effectively to plan ahead and to help you stick to a disciplined approach with your money management.
• Once you have set up your budget, it is important to stick to the plan to avoid a potential cash flow crisis.

So, I want to encourage you to…

• Create a budget,
• List your expected income and expenses,
• Review your expenses,
• Manage your money well,
• Try to eliminate wasting money,
• Be disciplined. Keep tight control of your money,
• Avoid bad debt,
• Live within your means,
• Put God first in your budget,
• Don’t forget to also build saving and investing into your budget – this will set you up for a brighter tomorrow!

Having a BUDGET is all about planning and managing your finances. As the saying goes, “Failing to plan, is planning to fail”.

What is a Budget?

Quite simply, a budget is an itemized summary of likely income and expenses over a given period.

It is a tool that helps you prioritize your spending and manage your money.

There are only two ways to have a positive balance when budgeting – increase your income, or limit your expenses.

By planning and monitoring your budget, you will be able to prioritize what is most important, as well as being able to identify where you are wasting money.

How to Create a Budget

The easiest way to budget is to set yourself a goal. Put a workable plan in place.

Try to establish what happens to your money:

Draw up a spreadsheet of all your income to establish how much you earn.

Draw up an expenses spreadsheet, because before you can manage your money, you have to know how you’re spending it. Get into a routine of recording your expenditure on a daily basis.

• Make sure that you spend less than you earn
• Put God in your budget, and down forget to build savings into your budget
• Make it a habit to stick to your budget. In the long run, you will see the fruit if you follow through.

There are many items you need to include in your budget, such as…

• Household Expenses (rent, rates, electricity, etc.),
• Food and Clothing,
• Transport (car repayments, petrol, etc.),
• Communications (telephone, internet, etc.),
• Schooling,
• Entertainment,
• Insurance,
• Savings,
• Incidentals (coffee, magazines, etc).
• Don’t forget to put God first. When you do, you set yourself up to be blessed.

Budgeting is all about the INs and OUTS – your INCOME and EXPENSES.

Once a budget is set, it is important that you aim to stick to the plan to avoid any potential cash flow crisis.

“The wise are cautious and avoid danger, fools plunge ahead.” (Proverbs 14:15)

So, I want to encourage you to…

1. Set up a habit – create it.
2. Review it regularly – make it a habit, a regular routine.
3. Stick to your budget – if you take a disciplined approach to your money management, you will improve your cash flow.

I also suggest that your budget aligns with your priorities…

• Put God first

“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10)

• Save before you spend – this will set you up for a fruitful future!

“The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.”(Proverbs 21:20)

• Live within your means

Jesus said, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.” (Matthew 14:28)

So set up your budget. Count the cost!

It is time to create the habit of budgeting your money effectively.

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5)

Have a blessed week.

God bless you.