By Aida Mounkes

If you come from a low income household, budgeting is a challenge. Being able to afford everything is paramount but also, being able to afford your goals is very important as well. I know families that spend $300.00 a month on groceries, with their kids and everyone included. Then I also know families that spend $300 a week on groceries. We are going to go over some tips to budget for now and for the future.

Tip #1 Always Pay Yourself First

To someone who is new to their career, this can mean many different things. Budgeting for bar money and clothes first- or putting money away first. It is always recommended to put some money in a savings account but do people actually do it. Remember that the average American only has $1,000.00 in savings. When you look at the price of tires for your car or replacing a Dishwasher, $1,000.00 won’t get you very far if things happen all at once as they often do. What I recommend is to take 10% of your paycheck and put 5% in a savings and the other 5% for eating out, buying clothes, the miscellaneous fund. I also call this fund the, “Mental Health Fund.”

If we are truly talking about budgeting, you must budget for things like eating out, movie night, and generally making yourself happy. If you do not budget for these kinds of things, you will have a sense of guilt every time you do something for yourself like buy shoes. Your normal shoes will be worn to the point of using duct tape to hold them together but to buy more shoes will take you spending grocery money and with teenagers in the house that isn’t feasible. So, you will wear those shoes until you can afford to take $50.00 away from the food. Listen, I don’t care if you allot 5% every paycheck in an account that you will never touch. You need to budget for the miscellaneous items that make you happy.

Tip #2 Allow For a Little Extra For Utilities

This tip is very simple, for those utilities that you do not have averaged out throughout the year, it is recommended to round up the most expensive month to the nearest $5 or $10. Budgeting an extra $5 or $10 dollars for utilities will add up. Sticking to this at the money for the utility fund is the challenge. Exercising the discipline to not spend the extra money is difficult. However, keeping the money in there to add up will make a difference in the long run.

Budgeting is a useful tool to help with being able to afford the surprises that come along. You will find that budgeting for your household will lessen the stress when you have to pay for the big things in life.

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