#Personal budget sample guide how to#

No matter how much you love Netflix, you could pause it for a month if you had to.) In other words, “have-to” bills include anything you can’t decide to skip. Fuel for your car (or other transportation).Your monthly “have-to” bills are things like: That’s your average monthly take-home pay.

Add those things together, and then divide by 3.If you have cash you don’t deposit, estimate an average week and multiply that by 13.Add up your bank deposits for the last 3 months.No matter what your personal situation is, even if your income changes from month to month, you can still work out a good starting point for your monthly take-home pay: Do you get paid every week or every 2 weeks?.Do you have a side gig that brings in some extra cash?.Do you work shifts that change weekly or monthly?.Whatever you bring home each month after taxes and other paycheck deductions is your monthly take-home pay.įor everyone else, your monthly income might move around a bit: If you’re lucky enough to get paid once a month for working one job with a steady paycheck, this step is simple. The first number you need for your personal monthly budget is your monthly take-home pay.

#Personal budget sample guide how to#

How to Get Started with a Simple Personal Budget Step 1. This guide will walk you through 4 great approaches to personal budgeting, all of which are designed to keep your budget flexible-so you can handle anything life throws at you while keeping your personal monthly budget on track. You can track your budget in a spreadsheet or use a personal budget app to stay on top of your money.įortunately, there are a few basic approaches to personal budgeting that make it much easier to get started, and they all begin with the same first steps. You can keep things at a high level or you can break your spending down into personal budget categories. Creating a simple personal budget always comes down to one thing: keeping your total monthly expenses below your monthly take-home pay.īut there are about as many ways to do that as there are people on the planet.