Budgeting

To get a fresh start, you need to be the boss of your money. You need to decide where your money goes. Before you filed your bankruptcy or consumer proposal, a lot of your money went to paying your debts.  Now that your debts are gone, you can make a plan to send your money where you want it to go.

How?

Here’s a list of ways you can manage your money, so let’s get started!

Make a Budget

You don’t have to make a budget (more on that below), but if you want to track your spending and set financial goals, click on the links for more information:

For many people the word budget is even scarier than the word bankruptcy, but don’t let budgeting scare you.

A budget is simply a way to keep track of where your money goes, so you can make adjustments to improve your financial situation, and get a fresh start.

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How you choose to budget is up to you. A spreadsheet, budgeting app on your phone, money jar or bill payment plan are all effective. Anything will work as long as you stick to it.

Free Budgeting Worksheet

For those who like to use a computer spreadsheet, download our free excel budgeting workbook. This detailed budgeting tool will help you:

  • Set financial goals.
  • Track your current spending.
  • Build a balanced budget.
  • Track your results.

An Easier Approach to Budgeting

Budgeting on paper isn’t for everyone. At Hoyes, Michalos we have found that the simple process of paying your bills as frequently as you get paid works for many of our clients. We call it the NO-BUDGET BUDGET.

Here’s the secret: Pay your bills every payday.

That’s it.

  1. First, make a list of every bill you pay every month, with amounts. Your list will include hydro, gas, telephone, cable, and so on.
  2. Next, divide each bill by the number of pays you get in a month. If your hydro bill is $100 per month, and you get paid every week, you need to pay $25 to hydro every week.
  3. Then, go to internet banking at your bank, and program in your bill payments for each payday. Do it for the next six months, so you don’t have to worry about it.  Set up a reminder for yourself for the end of the six months to check that the amount you are transferring is sufficient, and update accordingly.
  4. You’re done. Every pay day your bills are automatically paid. No more worries about which bill is due on which day, because on payday, everything gets paid!

Yes, money management can be that easy. Following this approach, you will be much less likely to reach the end of the month and find yourself with more bills to pay and no cash left to pay them.

If you’d like more information, listen to one of our podcasts about the topic “Is Making a Budget A Waste of Your Time?”

Manage Money Contents: