Budgeting Part 1

I've been obsessed with numbers for as long as I can remember, so budgeting has come naturally to me. It has been requested that I share some of my "secrets," so here you go!

This will be part 1 of a several part series so it can be well organized and thorough. For the purposes of this blog, I have not used our actual financial figures. I have used numbers that are easy to divide, multiply, and explain. In my actual budget I account for every penny that will be spent.

To begin, I make two lists, one with expenses that are seen monthly and another for yearly (although some can be interchangeable). These are the categories that we use, but every family is different so add categories as needed. Be sure to add any debts and the minimum amounts that you are required to pay.Although it is very tedious and time consuming, it's very important to go through past bills to accurately assign amounts to each category. If it is not something that has a set amount, (ie. medical bills, electric, gas, cell phone) give a generous estimate. I will go over later what will happen when you have extra money in a category.

Part 2 will answer the question, "How large does my paycheck have to be!?!"