Sunday, 19 June 2011

Control You Finances with Practical Budgeting Tips

By Jonathan Woods


Did you know that all you need to stretch your dollars really far are a few simple budgeting tips. Sure it is possible to spend a lot of money all at once, but most people see the majority of their money dripping away in tiny, hard to track expenses. When you set a budget and keep track of your expenditures, you can easily regain control over your money and actually build up some savings. When you use the budgeting tips we're about to talk about you should even have money left over at the end of the month.

For some people, one of the best ways to manage a budget is to use a spreadsheet program. There are lots of programs that you can use that will be really easy to set up and that will make it really simple to track all of your expenses as well as your income. Not everyone has the same level of comfort with technology though and the same operations are possible in a notebook with a pen and the help of a calculator. The reason you set up a budget is so that you can watch what is happening with your money down to the last cent. The first thing you need to do to control your budget is keep it in one place.

Clothing is an important expense but you can easily save lots of money here if you go about it correctly. Most of the time the only real difference between an expensive designer piece of clothing and one that is "normal" is the label; simply buying cheaper labels can help you save lots and lots of money. You can also save money by purchasing clothing out of season. Many stores will heavily discount items that will soon be obsolete that year. For example, the best time to purchase a winter coat for yourself is at the end of the winter season. Buying used clothes that are still in good condition is another option, and you can find these at thrift shops, yard sales and online at sites likes Craigslist.

Growing your own veggies can help you greatly lower your food budget. This probably sounds a little bit extreme but lots of people have started to do it. Some towns, and even large cities also have community gardens where you can rent a small lot and grow vegetables. This is where saving money can actually be good or you because it is actually healthier to eat fresh vegetables straight from your own garden than it is to eat foods grown commercially. It is also a quite satisfying hobby. This particular hobby doesn't have to be time consuming and it is absolutely worth looking into. Growing your own vegetables helps make your family healthier and saves money in your food budget.

Setting up and maintaining a budget might seem like hard work when you first start doing it but it is easy to get used to. You might even find that the new habits you're forced to build are more satisfying than your old ways. So many people discover a tremendous satisfaction in a simple life that didn't exist in a more monetarily driven style. When you use the budgeting tips in this article it won't take you long to figure out that your money is lasting a lot longer.




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