Spending...and Budgeting For It!

Spending always sounds like more fun than budgeting. That can be true even if you stop calling it a budget and start calling it a spending plan.

Spending is the easy part!
Spending is not hard to do. It doesn't require too much thought - and there are lots of chances to do it. Budgeting, on the other hand, doesn't come as naturally. There is thought that has to go into it. What categories should you use? How do figure out how much should be in each category? What if you are wrong?

It can all be a little overwhelming. But it doesn't need to be. Just remember that it doesn't need to be perfect. It isn't a test. Buying stuff is not always perfect either...sometimes you have to return stuff. And you get another chance to pick out something better. Budgeting can work the same way.

The most important part of budgeting is to get started.

Second, don't try to be perfect. There is no such thing as a perfect budget. Focus on just getting started. Take your best shot at the categories and how much to put in them. You can make the categories really broad at first and then narrow them down if needed. For example, you may just have entertainment, clothing and food to start with. In a couple of months, you may want to break out entertainment into movies, music and books.

Third, come up with your name for your budget. Maybe you'd prefer to call it a spending plan. Or your fun plan. Or your creative wealth plan. Just make it fit you. Make it feel less like homework!

Some resources
One of the big blocks to getting started is having some easy resources to help. That's where these other pages can help. Check them out!

• Holiday spending: Pages and pages on two of the biggest - Christmas and Halloween.
• Basic budgeting help.
Category lists, how to figure out how much goes into each and how to track it all.
• Tools.
Sometimes you just need a quick spreadsheet or an idea on what software might help you.

And if you can't find the help you want, let us know! Just hit the contact button at left and send us a note!