Financially prosperous individuals like Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and property mogul, Robert Kiyosaki, support this. They believe that it takes planning, hard work, budgeting and smart financial choices to build one’s riches and that financial independence is within everybody’s grasp.
Budgeting is the first step to financial freedom. This simple monthly exercise:
- Helps you control your daily finances to ensure you can do things that bring you joy;
- Reminds you of your long-term goals, like buying a house or paying for your child’s education;
- Ensures that you have a safety net in place when financial disasters (caused by sudden illness or a personal emergency) strike.
Why budget?
Many people see budgeting as a negative, thinking of it as an unnecessary constraint that prevents you from enjoying your hard-earned income.
In truth, a monthly budget gives you a short-term reality check with long-term results. This means that if you are in financial trouble, a budget will help you spend money on the right things in the short term so that you can stabilise your finances in the long term.
In other words, budgeting empowers you to be in control of your finances and making your money work for you.
A budget sheet, like the one below, gives you a realistic indication of where your money is spent and where you should make the necessary adjustments to reach certain financial goals. So if you have been dreaming about a new car, clearing your debt or a cruise on the Mediterranean, keep a monthly budget and ensure that enough money is saved to reach your goal.
Create your own or save a copy of this free budget sheet:
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PDF/Adobe Acrobat Budget Sheet - right click and choose 'Save Target As' |
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XLS/Excel Spreadsheet Budget Sheet - click and Save |
Become your money’s master today!
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