The core of budgeting for single mothers is to see your monthly spending needs and habits. The purpose of a budget allows you to track your personal cash flow. Your personal cash flow is how much money comes in and how much goes out.
First Step to Household Budgeting
Adding up your monthly income is easy, but totaling up all your expenses may take a bit longer. First, you should collect all your bills, your credit card statements, your checkbook register and receipts for your groceries, gas and anything you buy with cash.
If you haven't been keeping good records, you may have to get a receipt of every dollar you spend for a month before you put together an accurate budget. Track you expenses by making entries in a notebook or learn how to use Microsoft excel which will make budgeting easier in the long run because you will be able to revert back to the old budget and update any changes you have come across.
Next, you’ll want to divide your spending into fixed costs and variable costs. Your fixed costs will include such things as mortgage payments, rent or loan payments. Your variable costs will include such things as clothing, food and entertainment.
Once you are managing your spending, you can easily decide which costs as a single mother you can cut and which you cannot. In most cases as soon as you see how much you are spending on your morning latte or on check out lane impulse buys, you will be motivated to cut back.
Also, once you start to budget you should feel less stressed about money. People’s emotions are stirred when they are dealing with stress, so they tend to do things out of the regular such as eat more or eat less, sleep more or sleep less and so forth so by having an accurate budget you should be able to cut costs if you have irregular spending patters such as on food. Be sure to stay motivated by setting goals. Once you reach a certain amount of money saved, treat yourself to something you deserve, but remember it doesn’t have to be something big, it might simply be going out for ice cream or doing something you enjoy like going for a hike.
Here are a few budgeting tips to get you started:
* Budgeting isn't difficult, but getting started does take motivation. Promise yourself a reward for your efforts.
* Gather as many bills up to a year's past, and add up how much you spend every month. Divide them into categories such as housing, entertainment and food.
* Take a good look at what you can spare. For example you will find that entertainment expenses are easy to cut, but utility bills are not. Keep a daily journal of what you spend each day. This may sound obsessive, but it can be helpful. Once you know where your money goes, you can spot your unnecessary costs. It is really not that hard to give up lattes or to bring your lunch from home.
* Pay bills as soon as they come in. Avoid destroying your budget with late fees.
* Decide what you can cut, and then cut it out. Track what you are saving, and you will be pleased with the results.
In no time you’ll be on your way to stable monthly spending and hopefully be putting some income into savings for emergencies. Single mothers do it all the time, so don’t underestimate your persistence to do something and stick with it. For more financial help for single mothers, visit http://www.singlemotherresources.com.
Katie Spencer is a contributing writer for a number of international financial journals both online and in print. Katie has been delivering financial education to the public in a variety of areas to include budgeting, credit and debt management, and money saving tips. Recently, Katie has been in partnership with a national educational foundation to deliver financial advice to American consumers via the web. For more information and to read the latest articles published by Katie, please visit http://www.singlemotherresources.com