Create a Budget: save over a thousand dollars a year

By
Jason Hull
 – February 12, 2009Posted in: Budget

Would you like to save over $1,000 dollars a year? Knowing how you are spending your money can help you cut wasteful spending and be on your way to financial success.  The first step is to create a budget.  Creating a budget is a very simple task yet over 60% of americans do not make or maintain a budget for their own personal finances.  Creating a budget is the only way to stay on track with your financial goals.

So let’s start with your budget.  Here are some recomended percentages for your budget.  Experts recomend trying not to exceed 28% of your income for housing.  Another highly recomended number is putting away between 10-15% of your annual income for retirement.  Below is an example you may want to start with.

Account %
Housing  28
Food 15
Savings 10
Retirement 15
Utilities 8
Gas 7
Entertainment 4
Clothing 3
Auto 3
Auto Insurance 2
Other 5
**Annual Income After Taxes  

These are some good numbers to start with.  According to your income the percentages will vary significantly.   Look for a release of ”Budget Tracker V.1.0″ from College Corporation.  This tool will help you  start your budget and track expenses for the year. 

Get it and many other helpful tools at  http://www.collegecorporation.com/tools/

Create An Emergency Fund

After you start using your budget your next goal should be to save up three to six months income in a high yeild savings account.  This will be your emergency funds.   I use www.ingdirect.com and have never had any problems.  Transfers and withdrawls are always quick and accurate.  They allow you to log in and track interest day by day, so you can continually see your money grow.

 

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