Creating a budget
If your young adult has never thought about creating a budget before, using our budget calculator and worksheet can take the mystery and guesswork out of the process. Adding up your income, tracking expenses and calculating your net income are simple but important steps to keeping control of your finances.
Getting on track
Find yourself missing the mark when it comes time to pay your expenses? There are only 3 ways to reverse the trend of negative net income: increase your income or decrease your expenses, or do a combination of both. There are probably many expenses you can begin to lower or eliminate, at least until you are in more sound financial shape.
Take a look at your detailed list of monthly expenses and separate the "nice to haves" from the "must haves." It's nice to buy take-out coffee or splurge on restaurant meals several times a week, but if that hundred dollars or more could otherwise help pay off your credit card balance or build up a savings account, aren't those wiser uses for the money? For the "must haves," look for ways you can trim your bills.
Consider things like:
Moving in with roommates, or living with your parents a while longer.
Look on your utility's Web site for ways to lower energy costs.
Raise insurance deductibles to lower premium rates.
Rent or check out movies from the library rather than going to the theater.
Brew your own coffee and use a thermos.
Hold garage sales and shop second-hand stores.
If you routinely spend more than you earn, debt can quickly take over your life. Here's "10 Smart Steps for Tackling Your Debt" that can help.
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