A budget doesn’t mean you have to stop doing the things you like to do. It might for a little while, but as you manage your money better, you will find you have more money available to do the things you want.

“I don’t need to establish a budget, I only work part time.” “I don’t need to establish a budget, I don’t make enough money.” “I don’t need to establish a budget, I don’t have any extra money.” “I’ll start budgeting next month.”

If you’ve found yourself saying any of the above, you misunderstand the purpose of a budget. The sooner you get in the habit of budgeting your money, the easier it will be to keep budgeting when your financial health improves. The longer you procrastinate, the harder it will be to get your finances under control. By living from payday to payday, you put a tremendous amount of unnecessary stress on yourself.

Here are a few steps you can follow to get a simple budget started.

1. Identify all your consistent sources of income for one month, including your pay-check, overtime pay, child support, stock dividends, etc. Add these together.

2. Write down which day of the month you receive each source of income. This way, you will know which weeks of the month you have the most money and which weeks you have the least.

3. Pay yourself first. It’s important to remember that it’s not how much money you make every month, but what you do with it that counts. Saving a portion of your income for yourself each month, even if it’s only $10, helps you start to build a reserve.

4. Now write down all the bills you have no control over and the dates they are due. These are bills that have to be paid for you to survive. They would include rent, utilities, telephone, car payment and insurance, and loans.

5. Total up the expenses in #4 and divide them by the number of times you receive income in a month (#2). For instance, if you receive income twice a month, you should divide your total expenses by two. This will tell you how much you need to hold in reserve each time you receive income to pay your bills.

6. If the due dates on your bills conflict with your payment plan, that is, the times of the month you have determined that you receive income, talk to your creditors about getting the due date changed. For example, if you’ve decided to pay your car payment and insurance out of the income you receive the first week of the month but they are due on the 20th, you don’t have to change their due dates because you can save that amount the first week and pay the bills before the due date.

But, if your telephone bill is due on the 7th and you have determined that it should be paid out of the income you receive the third week of the month, you should call the telephone company and ask them if you can change your due date to the third week of the month to coincide with getting paid. Most companies are willing to work with you. This will help you stick to your payment plan and your creditors will receive their payments on time. Everybody’s happy!

7. Stick to your payment schedule and only pay your bills at the times you have established. This will help you develop financial consistency and eliminate the stress of not paying your bills on time. You’ll also know exactly how much money you have available for other things. To begin with, you may not have any money left for additional expenditures, but that will improve as your bill payments go down.

8. Stop spending more money than you have, even if you know you will have it next month. Do not make purchases until the money is actually in your bank account. You must stick to your budget. Don’t spend $50 this month on something special for yourself if you only have $25. Instead, put that extra $25 in a safe place and then next month, when you have the other $25, go ahead and buy it.

9. Understand that you can take control of your finances by budgeting your money. Being disciplined and willing to make the necessary sacrifices will help you gain financial security. Your FFEF counselor can help you create a budget that will prevent you from having financial troubles in the future. For a detailed look at how to set up a complete budget, ask your FFEF credit counselor for copies of FFEF Volume 2: Creating a Budget and Volume 3: Implementing Your Budget.

Planning Works Every Time

The most important thing you can do to save money at the grocery store is PLAN AHEAD. While it may seem time-consuming and tedious to create a menu plan and shopping list, you’ll soon find that it actually saves you time and, more importantly, money.

Menu Plan

If it’s too overwhelming to plan a whole week of menus at once, start with one day at a time. Outline breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Keep in mind that a balance of fruits and vegetables is important. Add a couple of healthy snacks. Nothing too elaborate—carrot sticks, apples, etc. If you have trouble planning a full meal, there are lots of websites that have menus already created. One of these can help you get started. Make sure that the meals you select include foods that your family likes to eat.

Each week, add a menu for one additional full day. Remember that using leftovers in tasty ways from one day to the next is a great way to save money. In seven weeks or less, depending on how many days you plan for a week, you will have a full menu for a complete week.

Planning meals in advance helps prevent those last-minute trips to the store—or the fast-food restaurant. That alone saves you money.

Shopping List

Once you have your day’s menu established, start your shopping list. Make sure to include all the ingredients for each dish you want to make. This will become your master list, which you can use to make the list you will take to the store with you every week when you go shopping. Continue to add to your master list as you add each day’s menu.

As you run out of household items, add them to your master list also. Things like toilet paper, detergent, soap, deodorant, and dish soap often run out before we remember to replace them. If they are on your master list, you’ll always have the next one in the closet.

Dividing your list into categories will make it faster to add things to your list. Your categories could besomething like Dairy, Meat, Frozen Food, Fresh Vegetables, Bathroom, and Personal Hygiene. Use categories that make sense to you.

Ready to shop

Okay, this may seem like a long process, but it’s a process that WILL save you money. And after you’ve done it a few times, you’ll find that it saves you a lot of time as well. Once your master list is created, all you have to do is this:

1. Each week compare your master list to your menus. Mark on your master list the ingredients that you need for that week’s meals.

2. Make a shopping list of these ingredients. If you are able to keep your master list as a spreadsheet on your computer, this will be even easier. Just copy and paste the ingredients you need onto another document each week. Once you’ve printed it, you can delete the new list and just keep your master list.

3. Now review your master list for other household items you are running out of. Be sure to check all your cupboards—kitchen, bathroom, hall, etc. Add the items you need to your shopping list for that week.

4. Now that you’ve compiled your shopping list, check the refrigerator and pantry for ingredients that are on your shopping list but that you already have at home and cross them off your list. See—part of your shopping is already done before you even leave the house. What remains on your list is what you will buy at the store.

At the store

Decide which grocery store you are going to shop at. Review the weekly shopping ads if you want to before you make your decision. Picking one store to shop at is much better than going to several stores. It reduces the temptation to buy more than what’s on your list. If you like to clip coupons, take only coupons to the store for the things that are on your list. The big reason for creating a list is to help you stick to your plan and not spend more than you need to. Dividing your list into categories helps you here also by preventing the need to do lots of repeated looking around the store.

Getting the store’s layout is an even bigger plus. Then you can go straight to the aisles you need. Lots of large grocery stores are now willing to provide store layouts so try asking your favorite store associate for one. Going to the store with a plan is a great way to save money.

Websites with Menu Suggestions:

www.mealsmatter.org
healthymeals.nal.usda.gov
www.nutritionexplorations.org
www.aarp.org
www.healthyeating.net
www.americanheart.org