Creating a budget for your family
It’s always the right time to create a saving and spending plan (aka a budget). It’s also a good idea to revisit that plan annually or when a major shift occurs in your income or expenses.
We’ve created an easy to use, but thorough, Spending and Saving Plan tool to use. Before you get started, here are some tips to help you #ThinkLikeASaver, ensuring that your money is working smarter and harder for you.
Step 1. Determine your income.
To create an effective budget, you need to know exactly how much money you’re bringing in each month. Calculate your monthly income by adding your paychecks and any other source of income that you receive regularly. Be sure to use your net pay rather than your gross pay. Your net pay is the amount you receive after taxes and other allocations, like retirement savings, are deducted.
Step 2. Track both your expenses and your spending.
This step is essential. It’s not enough to write out your actual expenses, like rent or mortgage, food, and auto insurance, you must also track what you are spending.
If you’ve ever felt like your money “just disappears,” you’re not the only one. Tracking your spending is a great way to find out exactly where your money goes. Spending $10 a day on parking or $5 every morning for coffee doesn’t sound like much until you calculate the total cost per month.
Tracking your spending will help you pinpoint the areas you may be overspending and help you quickly identify where you can make cost-efficient cuts.
Once you’ve written out your expenses and tracked your spending habits, you’re ready for the next step.
Step 3. Set your financial goals.
Now you get to look at your present financial situation and habits and decide what you want your future to look like. Ask yourself what’s most important to you right now? What financial goals do you want to achieve?
Some common goals include building an emergency fund, paying down debt, purchasing a home or car, saving for education, and retirement.
Step 4. Decrease your spending or increase your income.
What if you set your financial goals and realize there’s not enough money left at the end of the month to save for the things you want?
You essentially have two choices. You can either change the way you manage your current income or add a new source of income. In today’s gig economy, it’s easier than ever to add a stream of income, but we know that everyone’s situation is different, and that’s not always an option.
Even if you can add income, you may have identified some spending habits you’d like to change by decreasing how much you spend.
Take a look back at your expense tracking. For the nonessential items, consider reducing your spending. For example, if you find that you are spending quite a bit on entertainment, like movies or dining out, reduce the number of times you go per month.
Then apply the money that’s been freed up to your savings goals.
Step 5. Stick to your plan.
Make sure you stick to your spending and savings plan. To make saving more efficient, set up automatic savings so that you can set it and forget it! Saving automatically is the easiest way to save.
Reassess and adjust your plan whenever you have life changes such as marriage, a new baby, a move, or a promotion.
Following your plan ensures that you’re financially stable, are ‘thinking like a saver,’ and better prepared for those unexpected emergencies.
Want a savings accountability partner? Take the America Saves Pledge or re-pledge and commit to saving successfully. America Saves will support you by being your “Savings Accountability Partner” with tips, resources, nudges, and email and text communications to help you stay on track of your savings goal.
CHECK OUT OTHER SAVINGS JOURNEYS FROM SAVERS JUST LIKE YOU
Saving Early: Key to Successful Future
By Johnnie Lovett
For Johnnie Lovett, a Young Illinois Saver, saving has been a habit since he was a teenager. “As a teenager, I was responsible for buying certain things with my allowance,” the Illinois State University junior said.
Budget like Nohemi
By Nohemi
Nohemi found out about America Saves a few years ago as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at...
Another Dream Realized
By Mary Brown
Mary Brown was already a disciplined individual when she came to Wisconsin Saves coordinator Wisconsin Wo...
Saving With My Boys
By Kelly
Kelly has made saving a family effort. She started her boys saving early. “Probably 3,” Kelly told us, “w...
The Gift of Homeownership
By Quaneka Willis
Quaneka Willis, a single mother of three children, was receiving rental assistance through the Housing Au...
Budget like Nohemi
By Nohemi
Nohemi found out about America Saves a few years ago as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She remembers attending a University of Illinois Saves event where she decorated a piggy bank and took the Pledge, but college life made her put the thought of saving at the back of her mind.
Saving for a Bright Future
By Kristin Hendricks
Kristin Hendricks, a single mother from Texas, understands the importance of saving money and following a...
Coping with a Lost Job
By Aimee Shaffer
Aimee Shaffer worked as a Public Service News Director for radio for years until one day her employer dow...
Transforming “I Can’t Save” to “I Will Save”
You will not believe what it took to completely change my life. About three years ago, the HR Administrat...
Taking Steps Toward Financial Fitness
By Nicky Vasquez
Nicky Vasquez learned about Virginia Saves when she attended her first class with Bank On Virginia Beach....
A Think Like A Saver Attitude
By Melissa
Melissa has always been thrifty with a #ThinkLikeASaver attitude. This served her family well when her husband lost his job in 2014. Using their savings, Melissa’s family stayed afloat while her husband found a new job.
Saving is a Family Affair
By Jeff
Saving is truly a family affair for Jeff’s household. During America Saves Week 2019, he pledged to save for retirement. But making a commitment and creating a plan to save isn’t a new concept for him.
Saving With My Boys
By Kelly
Kelly has made saving a family effort. She started her boys saving early. “Probably 3,” Kelly told us, “w...
Jump-Starting a Financial Makeover
By Nichelle Johnson
Nichelle Johnson, a single mom with two teenage children, knows what it’s like to stretch a dollar. When ...
A Think Like A Saver Attitude
By Melissa
Melissa has always been thrifty with a #ThinkLikeASaver attitude. This served her family well when her hu...
Don’t Laugh at Saving Spare Change
By Brittany
Virginia Saves saver, Brittany, decided to start saving again when she became a single mother. She thinks...
Saving With My Boys
By Kelly
Kelly has made saving a family effort. She started her boys saving early. “Probably 3,” Kelly told us, “when I started encouraging them to save because that’s when they started receiving small bills from family on the holidays.”
Starting and Continuing a Personal Finance Journey
By Kiara Hardin
When Kiara Hardin, now a junior at Western Illinois University, became an intern with the Chicago Summer ...
Put 20 Percent Away
By Melissa
“I am a single mother, and I make ends meet for me and my daughter, but I wanted to put money away for my...
Budget like Nohemi
By Nohemi
Nohemi found out about America Saves a few years ago as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at...
Saving is a Family Affair
By Jeff
Saving is truly a family affair for Jeff’s household. During America Saves Week 2019, he pledged to save ...
From Overwhelmed to In Control
By Debi
In 2017 Debi felt overwhelmed. Her credit cards were maxed, and she wasn't exactly sure how to handle it. When asked how her credit issues started, her answer sounded like many Savers that we've spoken to: making too many impulse purchases.
Getting Out of Debt
By Tonya Shelton
In 2004, Tonya Shelton was facing financial ruin. Barely making more than minimum wage and having lost he...
Taking Back Control Over Finances
By Nadine Bialo
After becoming a Virginia Saver and getting help from BankOn classes and coaching, Nadine Bialo took back...
Inspired to Build Savings By Starting Small
By Sharon
With little-to-no money in the bank and living on a limited income with her adult daughter, Sharon wasn’t...
Developing a Savings "Game Plan"
By Eunice Diaz
Eunice Diaz, a teacher in Colorado Springs, had been noticing a pattern. Despite the fact that she and he...
Savings #ImSavingForSweepstakes
#ImSavingFor Winner Story
By Pedram R.
America Saves awarded one lucky saver, Pedram R. from California, $750 for sharing his #ImSavingFor story. Pedram said, “Saving is important to me because it proves I am not willing to buy unnecessary things to please others or to be perceived as successful.”
Saving is a Family Affair
By Jeff
Saving is truly a family affair for Jeff’s household. During America Saves Week 2019, he pledged to save for retirement. But making a commitment and creating a plan to save isn’t a new concept for him.
Getting Out of Debt
By Tonya Shelton
In 2004, Tonya Shelton was facing financial ruin. Barely making more than minimum wage and having lost her home to an unexpected family crisis, Shelton and her family were forced to live in a rundown hotel.
If we feature you in our newsletter, you get $50.
You May Also Be Interested In...
Take the America saves pledge
Make a pledge to yourself and create a simple savings plan that works. Complete the Pledge and America Saves will send you short email and text reminders, resources and tips to keep you on track towards your savings goal. Become part of an entire community of savers. Get started now!
creative ways to fund your savings
Those with a savings plan are twice as likely to save successfully. Taking the America Saves Pledge is a pledge to yourself to start a savings journey and America Saves is here to encourage you along the way. Take the first step toward creating a better financial future. Make a plan, set a goal, and pledge to yourself to start saving, today.
Congrats on completing the pledge!
Congrats on completing the pledge!
We are so glad you have started your savings journey and Military Saves will be right beside you the whole way! You will soon receive an email from the Military Saves team to help encourage you. Find helpful links below to continue researching topics on saving.
Take the America Saves Pledge
Make a pledge to yourself and create a simple savings plan that works.