How To Create A Frugal Budget

In the present day world, where inflation never seems to curb and prices are always on the way upwards, it has become very difficult to make savings. With the income never increasing in proportion with the inflation rate, the problem becomes all the more severe. The only solution that comes to mind is cutting down on the expenses as much as we can. In this context, a frugal budget can prove to be quite handy. In case you don't know how to create a frugal budget, this article is just what you desire. Go through the following lines and explore tips to make frugal living budget.

 

 

The first step that you need to take, with regards to making a frugal budget, would be list out al the expenses that you regularly undertake in a month. The list should be exclusive of the monthly food ration, toiletries, kitchen items and even the money spent on eating out, entertainment and hobbies. You also need to include monthly payments, such as electricity bill, telephone bill, house rent, and so on. Try to make sure that not even a single item gets excluded from the list.

 

After making an estimate of the monthly expenses, it is the time to ascertain the income that comes into your hand. Apart from your income as well as that of your spouse, you also need to take into account the money received from investments and other forms of residual income. This will give you an idea as to how much money do you get in your hand every month and help you take the requisite measure to save as much as possible.

 

When you have an, almost correct, assessment of the total income that comes into your household and also arrived at the approximate expenses that are carried out on a monthly basis, it is the time to ascertain how much money is left in your hands, after a month is over. This can be used as contingency fund, for making investments and other purposes. With this step, you would be able to know how effective your present budget is.

 

Once you have all the figures in your hand, the income, expenses as well as the residue, it is the time to rework the budget. Since income is something that is not in your hands, especially if you are salaried, it is the expenses that you will have to mainly concentrate on. Go over each and every expense. Eliminate the unnecessary expenses and try to minimize the rest. You will have to look for places to cut and reduce your expenditure as much as possible.

 

By now, you must have arrived at the amount of money you expect to have in hand, after you put the new budget to test. Keeping in mind the approximate idea of the money saved, you will need to plan the savings and investment. How much money do you want to keep for emergency purposes? What are the investments that you would want to make, and to what end? In case you have debts over your head, skip this step and repay them on a priority basis.

 

Finally, it is the time to put your plan into action. Strictly follow the budget and try to live within the limits specified by it. Initially, it will be a bit difficult. However, you will have to curb the tendency to go back to the earlier habits. At the end of the month, check whether you have adhered to the budget or not. If not, determine that you will do so, the next time. You will need to reassess the budget every month and make the necessary changes, with the aim of increasing the savings.