Home
>
Personal Finance
>
Creating A Household Budget

Creating A Household Budget

Creating a budget can be a very difficult task. Although we as consumers know that we need to pay our bills, buy our necessities, and put money away for savings, we don't really know how to start.

I know from personal experience how hard creating a budget can be. In the beginning stages of my road to financial freedom, I would write all my expenses down on paper and noticed that I had little and sometime nothing left over to save. I tell my clients that seeing everything on paper is only the first of many reality checks while getting their finances in order.

I think all advisors in the financial world can agree that using categories helps tremendously. Everyone will not have the same categories thus making every budget unique.

A category simply is nothing more than a grouping. Instead of listing each credit card bill separately on my budget, I will give all of my credit cards a category, for example I will list it as "debt". Some popular budgeting categories are housing, savings, utilities, donations, healthcare, miscellaneous and income to name a few.

There are many budgeting software programs out there. I suggest however, that in the beginning stages of creating a budget you should continue to do things manually. This way you are constantly viewing your money and staying in touch with your expenses.

Another very important task of a successful budget is keeping up with your expenses and all of your receipts. Now, I know this is difficult especially when buying what we think are small things but believe me it is very significant, especially for married couples. If one spouse is spending over $4.00 a day 7 days a week on a cappuccino, that one purchase is costing your household $120.00 a month. To help solve this difficult task, keep a box in a common area and commit to tossing all your daily receipts in that particular box. When you sit down to work on your budget pull out all the receipts and categorize them. I suggest you do this weekly in the beginning. The box can fill up pretty quickly, especially when two people are contributing their individual receipts.

Last but not least place your categories in a percentage list. For example look at your life in the eyes of a lender. You should spend no more than 35% of your gross income on rent or a mortgage payment including tax and insurance. If you're spending more than 35% adjust your budget according to your true picture. However the total of all your categories cannot exceed 100%. Once you tally-up your actual budgeting totals, compare them to your translated percentage dollar amounts and see how you rate. Most will find out that they have a lot of work to do.

If you find that creating and sticking to a budget is overwhelming, seek the help of a professional.

Dina D. Harbour, Financial Coach
info@wanteddebtoralive.org (or visit)
www.wanteddebtoralive.org

Financial Management Experience:
Since 1986 Dina has taken an interest in the financial world. Starting her career as a Loan Clerk she quickly learned the importance of establishing good credit. After examining and improving her own financial situation she began to do research on minority lending in efforts to understand the reasons why minorities have the lowest approval rates for home loans. Her findings sparked a desire to share with others what she learned.

Since that time, she has worked as a Loan Closer for the SBA, Loan Officer for ACORN Housing, Trust Assistant for Wells Fargo Bank, and successfully won a $5000 laws suit against Equifax Credit Bureau in 2002 for reporting improper credit information. She has over 18 years experience helping people understand the importance of debt and credit. She has given many seminars over the years to Non-Profit Organizations, Libraries and private groups.

kitchen deep cleaning Arlington Heights ...

In The News:

Paralyzed woman Audrey Crews controls a computer with a brain chip from Elon Musk's Neuralink, demonstrating breakthrough brain-computer interface technology.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Meta removed over 600,000 predatory accounts from Instagram and Facebook while launching enhanced safety protections for teenage users on both platforms.

Facebook crypto scams trick users with fake celebrity endorsements and legitimate-looking cryptocurrency exchange ads that install malware on victims' devices.

Create private chat rooms using the iPhone Notes app collaboration feature with instant messaging capabilities and full control over conversation privacy.

Lyft rolled out safety upgrades with a new Safety Hub, driver blocking capability and a favorite driver option to give riders more control over their experience.

New research shows Americans increasingly trust AI for wellness guidance over social media, with 63% finding artificial intelligence reliable for health.

Luxury fashion brand Dior experienced a January 2025 data breach affecting customer personal information, and notifications were sent months after the discovery.

The commercial Unitree H1 humanoid robot weighs 104 pounds with 365 pound-feet torque per joint and demonstrates dangerous potential when software glitches occur.

Americans average 10-plus hours online daily, according to recent survey, splitting time between streaming shows on TV and browsing websites on multiple devices.

Boost your smartphone privacy instantly with these security tweaks for iPhone and Android that limit ad tracking, hide notifications and prevent unauthorized access.

Platforms like Hoax Tech and JS Click Cloaker help cybercriminals bypass detection systems using machine learning to selectively display scam content to victims.

A new battery recycling technique transforms old lithium-ion batteries into high-performance components that retain 88% capacity after 500 cycles with minimal waste.

Google's Android operating system can warn users about earthquakes before the shaking even begins – and there are ways to do it on your iPhone, too.

Meta's new gesture control wristband might just be the most seamless way to control a computer yet. And no, it doesn't require surgery, a camera, or even a touchscreen. All it needs is your wrist.

Long-haul trucks are now being upgraded with a surprising twist, thanks to California-based startup Revoy. Their electric boost doesn't replace diesel but works alongside it to cut emissions and fuel costs without major disruption.

PayPal and Venmo just rolled out something big: AI-powered scam alerts for Friends and Family payments.

As data centers multiply across the United States, energy demand is increasing at a rapid pace. This has not escaped the notice of large investment firms from Wall Street.

The Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit organization that maintains the Unicode Standard to ensure emojis work across devices, has announced Unicode 17.0, which includes nine new emojis slated for release this fall, in September 2025.

OpenAI is one of the world's leading AI research labs. Founded in 2015, it's behind some of today's most talked-about tools, including GPT, DALL·E, and ChatGPT.

Ever catch your dog staring at the screen during movie night and wonder if they're actually watching? Turns out, they might be. A new scientific study from Auburn University found that many dogs really do engage with television, and not all pups react the same way.

Stop the scammers from making contact in the first place. They're getting your parents' contact information and much more personal data besides, from somewhere.

The Walker S2 robot from UBTech autonomously exchanges its batteries in just three minutes, allowing continuous operation in car factories operated by BYD, Nio and Zeekr.

The FX Super One electric MPV from Faraday Future offers flexible seating, zero-gravity recliners and an AI system that creates a personal connection between driver and vehicle.

Practical solutions for reducing unwanted charity mail, political texts and email spam by opting out of shared lists, replying "STOP" and using data removal services.

Creating A Household Budget

Personal Finance