Making a spending plan

Feature article: Budgeting & Saving

Making a spending plan

First, make a list of how much money is coming in from all sources. Once you know how much money is coming in, you can then determine how much is going out and you can make a spending plan. A spending plan will help you get the most of what you want. Enter the amount of money coming in each month at the top of the chart.

Then go through each row and think about what comes due each month and what you would like to spend. Put the total by each category like food, clothing, etc.

If the total of what you plan to spend is more than you make, then create a tracking form of how much you spend to compare how you are actually spending with how you would like to spend.

You will probably be surprised by what you have spent on different things compared with what you want to spend. This will help you find out where you can cut back if you need to. Keep working on your spending plan until it is realistic.

If you’re like most people, making a spending plan is not easy. You may have to adjust it often to make it work. You might want to make a few copies to use as you adjust your plan in the future. If you are not happy with how much you have to spend, there are two things you can do about it—spend less or make more—or a little bit of both.

Your spending plan

Money you expect to make before deductions (weekly, monthly or yearly amounts):

Jan.

Feb.

March

April

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Total amount

planned

to spend

Total amount

actually

spent

Food

Clothing

Housing

rent/mortgage

Health

Education

Contributions

Transportation

Personal

Recreation

Home

maintenance

Help

Gifts

Insurance

Savings

Income Taxes

State

Federal

Dues

Debts

Total

$______

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Last update: Tuesday, May 05, 2009