How to Budget – A Guide for Families

If you always find too much month left at the end of your money, read BaBeeCard’s quick guide to budgeting.

Get Started
Do you like to write things down or prefer to use a computer? If you like the feel of a pen find a notebook that you can keep for budgeting. I’d also suggest you get a calculator. If you like to use a computer, set up your budgets on there. I like Excel, but a table in Word will work fine too and both programmes have the ‘SUM’ facility which you will find under ‘Table, Formula’ to help you add up.

Income and Outgoings
Do you know your income and outgoings? Look up your latest payslips, check how much child tax credit or other benefits you get and note down any other income.

Choose whether you want to budget by the week or on a monthly basis. This will depend on how often you get paid and when your bills come in.

I’ve written a list of ideas below to help you work out your outgoings. Note down your family expenses in each area and add in other categories as you need:

Look through last year’s bills if you have them or chat with your partner to remind yourself about bills which occur annually. When do you need to pay for car tax? Do you pay your home insurance in one lump sum? Have you included expenses like school, uniform or Christmas which can add pounds to your outgoings? Add these notes to your budget plan to help you spot which months are more costly. If you are using a notebook you may want to start a new page for each month’s budget. Using a computer, simply copy and paste your initial budget so you have a version for each month.

Now you have an overview of your income and expenses, does it show you when you are likely to run out of money? To avoid this:

1. Prioritise unavoidable expenses like rent or mortgage.
2. Look at big bills and ask about whether you can pay them monthly by direct debit without incurring extra costs. If not, set aside a little in advance each month.
3. Look for ways to save: can you walk instead of paying transport fares or pick supermarket brands instead of more expensive ones?
4. And watch out for more articles from BaBee Prepaid MasterCard, helping you and your family save.
   

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