This is a guest post.
To be prepared for the expenses you will make you should have a plan and stick to it. The best way you can do this is by calculating the salaries of the working members of your family by adding them and predict the expenses you will have.
In the expenditure you should include all repairs, refurbishments, new expensive purchases which you plan in the coming year. It is good to take an account of the expenses you intend to make to prevent confusing situations in which you don’t have enough to cover all of them.
Here are some tips how to prepare your housekeeping budget:
You should plan most of the expenses you will have daily, weekly and monthly. In the list with expenditure add the costs for food, cleaning, electricity, water, phone, healthcare, transport, personal expenses, cosmetics, entertainment, etc. Sum the earnings of your family and make a list with all expenses which your household will certainly have.
You can categorize the list by types of expenses: food, transport, entertainment, cleaning, new purchases, repairs, home innovations etc. Structure it as a table divided into time, expenses and earnings. Keep the list pinned in some of your rooms as a reminder.
Subtract the amount of the expenses which you plan to make from the sum of the income of your family for every month. The money which are left can be used for unpredicted situations.
Make sure you have extra money for expenses which you haven’t predicted or forgot to include. Depending on the salaries of your family members you can reduce the expenses if they are too much.
- Shop from home depot big markets which offer discounts to reduce costs. You can supply yourself with cleaning products from big outlets.
- Try to sell some of the possession you have which you and your family don’t need or use.
- Use DIY recipes for making beauty and cleaning products.
- If you plan to make a home renovation, see if you can do some of the work or if a member of your family has the necessary skills.
- Ask your friends if they know how to do some of the repairs you need.
- Use the services of companies which someone had recommended you and you trust.
- When you buy new pieces of furniture, the high price not always means great quality. Purchase from antique and second-hand shops when furnishing and decorating your home.
There are many ways to add more money to your budget.
- Sell new and rarely used items.
- You or someone in your family can work a part-time job if you see that you make too much expenses. The incomes you have must cover the predicted and unpredicted expenses.
You can either reduce the spending of money or increase your cash receipts. Make sure everybody in your family is involved in the process and has his part.
Maybe there are renovations which can wait if you can’t afford to make them now. If there are repairs that are urgent like leaky roof, plumbing, electrical and other defects, you mustn’t postpone them.
When planning your household budget, add all earnings of your family and then add all expenditures. In the expenditures, don’t forget to include the average monthly bills for electricity, water, heating, phone, healthcare and others.
Subtract the sum of the expenditure from the sum of the earnings before every month. This will save you from unpleasant surprises and you will be able to control and know the spending of money of your whole household.
Create a simple table on a sheet of paper with earnings and expenditures dividing them by type and source. Pin this list somewhere you can see it. Keep the household budget in your control every month calculating if you will have enough for everything planned. If not so, make some changes according to your priorities.
The article is presented by HouseCleaners Kilburn
