![]() I created an automated budget spreadsheet that you can download for free. Many people miss those two critical steps and jump right into starting a budget, which is why it’s not surprising that many struggle to stick to a budget. Once you’ve started to track your income and expenses as well as identified specific spending categories you want to save money on, it’s time to start a budget. How to Save Money on Food: 10 Things You Can Do.7 Ways to Save Money Without Realizing It.Read my post about how to find money in your budget to get started on this step, and check out some of the posts below that may be relevant to the specific categories you are looking to tackle: ![]() It’s more tangible than a generic goal of “spending less money.” Having specific areas you are focused on will make your chance of following through more likely. ![]() Decide which categories you want to focus on cutting costs in. Take some time and review each spending category. Or that your cable and internet bill is over $200. If this was the first time you tracked your expenses, you may be surprised to find out you spend $500 a month on restaurants, for example. Look for Areas you can Save and Cut CostsĪfter you have your spending data you can start looking for ways to save within your budget. While it’s not necessary to use the Budget spreadsheet when using Tiller, you may find it useful. I also created an automated budget spreadsheet in Excel that leverages Tiller to pull your data into nice reports and views. I used to do this manually each month and it took over an hour, and that was with a system that I spent hours and hours setting up. Tiller pulls in data from all your different bank and credit card accounts and aggregates it into one uniform format. I’m a big fan of spreadsheets so I always recommend Tiller if you are trying to easily pull your income and expenses. Having even one, two, or three months of this data can show you how much you spend based on broad categories like restaurants, groceries, and gas. I’ve been tracking my income and expenses for over five years now, and I can tell you there is nothing that can help you understand your finances more than having income and expense data. Think about it – how can you establish a budget without knowing how much you already spend? Or how much your take-home pay is each month? I think the first step is tracking your income and expenses. I think starting a budget is a positive action you can take, but I don’t think it’s the first step. You’ve probably heard the advice that starting a budget is the first step to improving your finances. Many of these steps are centered around understanding your finances, making a plan of action, and then executing on the plan.Īre you ready to get started on your path to better money management? Scroll to the bottom to download the checklist in a PDF format, or dive right into the post! This checklist goes through a variety of steps you can take to improve your finances. That’s why we put together the ultimate personal finance checklist. Improving your financial health is no different in the sense that it takes action to see results.Īll that is needed to improve your personal finances is dedication, time, and an understanding of the steps to take. ![]() You take proactive steps and carve out time to work out and eat better. If you want to get in better physical shape, what do you do?
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