In an age where consumer spending is high and there's a constant
flux of new products on the market, knowing budget properly
is the key to financial stability. Set long-term financial goals and
implement short-term strategies to put you back in control of your
wallet. If you're budgeting for an event, the basic concepts still apply.
Instructions
Create a personal spending plan
1. Learn how and where you spend your money. Stopping for a beer after work and renting a couple of movies on a Friday night doesn't seem like much, but every expense adds up. Get a small notebook and write down every penny you spend for a few weeks, to start seeing your spending patterns and what your expenses actually are (rather than what you think they are).
2. Create an ongoing spreadsheet listing what you spend, where and when. This will help you track patterns and inconsistencies.
3. Rank your spending priorities from the essentials (food, utilities, mortgage payments, medical costs) to the nice-to-haves (home improvement, vacations) and the luxuries (new car, high-end gadgets, designer clothes). Use what you learned from tracking your expenses to prioritize your spending. See 2 Set Priorities.
4. Factor fixed expenses into your budget, such as your mortgage, tuition or car payment, food costs and tuba lessons. Include annual expenses such as insurance payments and taxes.
5. Pay fixed expenses and bills first and live on what's left. Save up for what you want rather than buying it and then paying it back-- with interest. See 15 Live With Less and 227 Get Out of Debt.
Budget for an event
6. Get an estimated head count of attendees and determine how much money you have available to spend.
7. Split the event into components (food, alcohol, entertainment, security, decorations) and prioritize them. Call around and get a range of options and prices for each component.
8. Compare those prices with what you have to spend: If there's a big discrepancy, start slashing low-priority items. Make a cake instead of buying one; hire a DJ rather than a band.
9. Continue paring back until your expenses equal your budget. If you simply can't reconcile the two, make additional cuts or increase the budget and find ways to bring money in.
10. Add money to your kitty by asking for contributions, splitting costs with other people, having volunteers take on critical tasks, or bringing in revenue from outside sources. See 381 Plan a Fund-Raising Event.
Tags: rather than, your expenses, your spending, fixed expenses, your budget