Free Real Estate Articles by Damian Lanfranchi and Done-For-You Deals

(Continuing from Part 1 How Much Did You Spend!?! Not Again…)

In Part I, you learned about how so many families, no matter how little or how much they make, constantly struggle with money problems.

With all the news of the mortgage and foreclosure crisis, it’s not just low income families who are in trouble. For the first time even tons of middle and upper class families are facing serious money problems.

So what’s the solution?

We discovered the ultimate cure to money problems and the way to stay clear of them for good is to start treating the family unit like a business unit.

It really is that simple.

And it means keeping track of how much money is coming in and how much money is going out (revenue/earnings and expenses if you want to be fancy).

Yes – we’re talking about that nasty “B” word – BUDGET.

Before you throw up your arms and riot – let’s dispel a couple myths about budgets.

A budget does NOT mean you have to buy the cheapest brand of everything and only if it’s on sale.

A budget does NOT mean you can only spend money on the most essential necessities in life and you have to give up every other luxury and pleasure.

And a budget does NOT mean you have to change your entire life around and be miserable.

Still here?

Good.

So what does a budget mean for you?

It means…

- Knowing how much you make
- Knowing how much you spend
- Deciding how to balance that equation
- And then sticking to the plan!

That’s all.

No torture. No abuse. And no misery.

It’s just all about understanding and managing this equation of earnings and expenses.

Because it doesn’t matter what else you do, if the equation doesn’t balance no matter how much money you make you will never be fre.e of money problems.

Convinced yet?

Are you sold on the idea that a budget is your friend and not a party pooper whose only job is to make your miserable?

Hopefully you are.

Because you’re about to discover a very simple way to get your own family budget.

STEP 1 – Save up all your bills, credit card statements, pay stubs, bank statements, etc. for one full month.

STEP 2 – Using these receipts, come up with two different numbers. How much you earn and how much you spend every month.

For earnings – be sure to take into account taxes.

For expenses – be sure to include everything including the mortgage, utilities, automobiles, insurance (car, home, health), food, clothes, interest expense (on loans or consumer debt) and of course fun and entertainment money.

Whatever your expenses are, it’d be wise to add on at least an extra 10% as a safety net since there are probably certain expenses like bills you only pay quarterly or birthday presents for Uncle Joe that don’t come up every month.

STEP 3 – Is your equation positive or negative?

Meaning, are you spending more than you are bringing in?

If not, that’s great! You’ll want to decide how much money every month you can put towards paying down your debts or saving for the future.

If so, here’s where you have to make some decisions.

What are the different ways you can get the equation to balance?

You can certainly work more, though this is NOT the healthiest or wisest choice.

Honestly, more money just means more money problems.

There are plenty folks in even the highest income brackets who still struggle financially. Because most money problems are spending problems, not earning problems.

So how are you going to change your spending to make the equation balance?

Again, this doesn’t mean you have to give up everything.

But you do have to decide whether your Starbucks coffee or your weekly trip to the movie theater is more important. You many not be able to do both.

Getting this equation to balance is your first big step to curing your money problems.

STEP 4 – Got the equation balanced?

Good. Now it’s time for action.

Doing it on paper is one thing, doing it in life is another.

One of the easiest ways to ensure you stick to your target is to set some limitations on the areas of spending where you most quickly lose track of money or tend to, you know, well go crazy and break the bank!

This might mean setting aside just $25 per week for fast food money and having the self-control to not spend any more.

Or it may mean putting aside $40 per week for family fun and entertainment. Then every week the family can decide how to spend it. If one week you do something that doesn’t cost any money, like renting movies from the library or going to the beach, next week you’ll have double to spend on something really fun!

Lastly – for goodness sakes kill those credit cards!

Money troubles almost always stem from spending problems. And credit cards are like gas on the fire. Out of control in a flash!

If you don’t like carrying cash, just about every bank nowadays offers debit cards. They work just like credit cards except they only allow you to charge as much as you have in your account.

This means no more spending money on stuff you can’t actually pay for!

Hey, maybe a family budget isn’t as fun as a trip to Disney Land, but the rewards are certainly great.

Your life will be far less stressful since you’ll no longer have to fear the unknown and whether or not you’ll have enough money to pay next month’s bills.

You’ll have less conflict in your family and marriage. Once everybody agrees on the new budget, there won’t have to be a big argument every time a new purchase comes up. If it’s in the budget, great! If not, it just doesn’t happen.

Finally, a lot of times, some of the biggest money problems come from your actual house expenses. Are you currently in a property where you’re falling behind the mortgage or the payments are just too big?

Or have you been stuck wasting your money on rent checks because you haven’t been able to build your credit score and buy your own home?

If so – we have a ton of creative homeowner solutions that really can change your life and your situation.

No matter what situation you’re facing, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to drop us a ring today.

And yes, we do our very best to work with every kind of budget, so be sure to bring yours )

Related articles:

How Much Did You Spend!?! Not Again… Part 1 of 2