Your budget isn’t JUST for making sure you’re able to pay your bills and debts each month. We all know the basics of what a budget should include: rent/mortgage, groceries, utilities, debts, savings, etc. But your budget should also have a few other things:
1. Realistic Numbers
Your budget will likely include a few fixed items like rent, car payments, or utilities. However, what about the categories that aren’t fixed? You get to decide how much you spend here, so you need to make sure the number is realistic. If you can afford to pay more on your debts, DO IT. If you should be spending less on eating out, decrease that number.
2. Fun Money
YES, your budget should include a FUN category. We aren’t here to make ourselves miserable by staying home and never doing anything exciting. Listen, I told you a budget should be exciting, didn’t I?!
3. Financial Goals
First and foremost, your budget should have your financial goals in mind. Do you want to pay off all your debt? Then you should create your budget in a way that allows you to pay the most toward your debt each month.
4. Flexibility
your budget NEEDS to be flexible. If it’s not flexible, you’re going to have a hard time sticking to it. Because let’s be real here, some months we eat out more than others and some months we’re homebodies.