Select Page

Then let us get started, together. There are lots of practical suggestions for setting up a family or household budget.  We will never be able to cover them or the mechanics and intricacies all here at once. You will however continue to find in these pages valuable insights and tit-bits to help you pursue better fiscal management and cash flow, budgeting in general.

It is all about making your dollar go further.  Investing in the time and effort that it will take to get to that point of  greater financial security and possibly even have a surplus eventually!

1: Take stock and face the facts head-on, honestly and with serious commitment, drive and purpose. Assessing your own capital worth and analyzing your home life and situation from a financial perspective is of utmost importance.

2: Plot your own course. Formulate some financial goals and lay out your own roadmap on how to get where you need and want to be financially speaking.

3: Take a thorough, critical and factual look at your fiscal situation and status. Unbiased and honest is best. Get a most recent credit report and look over your bank and credit cards statements,  tax returns and other financial sources of information: stock portfolio, RRSP’s and more.

Get a financial planner to assist you if you are unsure about what to use and include or not in this assessment. You might also want to take a broader perspective and discuss retirement, priorities, insurance needs, will and testament and more, because,  like financials, we never seem to take these crucial life planning tasks and to do very seriously and barely give them second thought or time of day! The time is now and the place is here to take control of your financial situation and life.

4: Committing the time and effort to build your financial action and spending plan, budget and goals should get priority and might just be the most valuable undertaking and time well spent, not wasted you might ever set aside!

5: Think of how you define your own financial worth. Reflect on what it is, what you base it on. Is it concrete data and fact, perception or maybe even a wild guess or estimate? Income, savings and all of your other assets work together to give you the whole fiscal picture.

This side of the balance sheet for most people remains fixed and is relatively easy to do, when they put their minds to it.

6: Always remember that this process and document known as a family budget is only going to be as good as the data and updates you provide! When acquiring new assets, ensure that this side of the balance sheet is strengthened appropriately!

7: Adjust your focus slightly to more in-depth and longer term. We live so much in the moment, especially if we purchase things or spend our money. We just look at the cost today and do not think of interest over time and this being the total cost of course.

8: Actually setting financial goals will also energize you, give you a reason to work towards something meaningful. You might even start to enjoy uncovering opportunities for frugal choices, ‘penny-pinching’ and what we prefer to call creative savings techniques!

9: Become financially literate and master the family budget process, tools and worksheets, spending logs. Demystify some of the complexities and just try some fiscal responsibilities, without being overwhelmed by the intricacies of calculations and more.

Remember, there is always professional help out there, once you have gotten started, completed the grunt and groundwork to move in and on to a comprehensive consultation with a personal, professional financial planner, who can explain the lay of the land, impact of your situation and plan in more detail.

Most of them will offer the first consultation free to assess your situation for you. Most of them utilize state-of-the-art software and technology industry-related and customized tools that shed light on even the darkest situation,  to find a little ray of hope and a couple of dollar at the end of the tunnel. There is a way out of the abyss.

10: Family budgeting can be used to teach you good fiscal habits: get in the habit of paying in cash, using your credit cards only for emergencies.

Learn how to stop buying on impulse and use your willpower to walk away, say no thank you and leave it at that. Shop at wholesale and discount department stores. Respect your budget limits and stick to it. Buy generic medicine and support your discount pharmacy.

Always try to find ways to supplement your income, part-time jobs, your own business or rent a room or floor in your house, offer storage, invest in real estate and take in a boarder or tenant.

Turn your thermostat way down in your house and turn off a few lights. Winterize your house from top to bottom. Eliminate and treat areas where heat and energy is lost. Cut back on home and cell phone use. Check insurance policies shop around and raise your deductible to lower your monthly bill.

In isolation, these probably do not have a lot of impact individually, but when they are combining in a well-planned, cleverly executed family budget, with discipline and consistency, they will start to make a difference and you will start to see the benefits and impact on your bottom line.

This part 1 of the household budget series. Click here to read next part: Household Budget Guide: Part 2