I’m sure that by now you’ve read the many articles and blogs on the importance of creating a family budget. However, the key ingredient in making and sticking to a family budget is to know how much you spend, and where.
Knowing your monthly family expenses is easy: the cell phone bill, electricity, family insurance bills, etc. Those are generally a set price you can write into every family budget without much thought. But what about your entertainment costs? Some costs that vary month to month can include:
- Taxes
- Daycare
- Movie nights
- Eating out
- Babysitters
- Parking/transportation fees
- Travel
When you add up all your changing family expenses it can add up to quite a bit chunk of your family budget. Here are some great tips on how to manage and track your family expenses:
- First, start a daily journal where you can put all your expenses of the day. Make sure everyone in the family does this, and that they include the item, price, and day they purchased the item.
- Next, when sitting down with your family to create the family budget, make sure to go over all the spending so that everyone’s habits are accounted for.
- Finally, decide which of the expenses should be cut, which can stay, and who needs to add or cut down on their portion of the spending.