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Saving Hacks

Budgeting Saving Hacks

Budgeting

Saving Hacks

Helpful Terms
& Tools

Snowball Method

Take 10 and Get Started!

Let’s go through a quick exercise to get this ball rolling.

What you need: Pencil, Paper, the last six months of bank/credit card statements, your most recent pay stub, and a glass of wine.

Go through your bank or credit card statements and put an R next to the Routine expenses that occur every month. Put an A by the Annual expenses that happen once or twice a year. Put and E next to the Extra expenses that don’t happen every month. Make three columns for the Routine, Annual, and Extra expenses.

Now jot down the answers to these questions:

1. Is your monthly income equal to or greater than your Routine expenses? How much do you have left over each month?
2. How do you currently plan for those annual or semi-annual expenses like auto or home insurance? (Or, do you just wait for them to surprise you?) Does it make sense to you to just put aside a set amount each month to cover those expenses when they come due? So that they don’t “creep up” on you?
3. How many of those Extra expenses could you cut out of your monthly spending without missing? Are there “extras” that you could account for as a set aside?
4. Do you have any room to set aside a contingency for emergency expenses?

Be financially conscious of where your money is going simply by taking a look at it every day!

Top 5 Budgeting Apps

For tracking and planning your financial life (by PC World.com)

1. Mint – Connects to your various financial accounts and will track expenses in real-time.
2. You Need a Budget – Gives every dollar a job!
3. Every Dollar – created by Dave Ramsey with basic categories and simple strategies.
4. Quicken – Provides three versions from simple to robust depending on need.
5. Personal Capital – A more powerful money management app.