We're Spending $10,410 Every Month (Here's Our Full Family of 4 Budget), by Inspired Budget | Allison Baggerly on YouTube. 29 min 32 s.
- Video length
- 29 min 32 s
- Time to do it
- 1 hour
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Start with income. Add up your monthly take-home pay from every source, including side work and any regular payments you receive. Use the amount that actually lands in your account, not your gross salary.
List your fixed expenses. These are the bills that stay about the same each month: rent or mortgage, insurance, phone, subscriptions and minimum debt payments. Add them up as one total.
List your variable expenses: groceries, fuel, eating out, kids' activities, clothes and gifts. Check two or three months of statements and use the average for each category instead of a guess.
Set a savings line. Decide a monthly amount for your emergency fund and any short-term goals, and treat it like a bill you pay yourself first.
Add your debt plan. Write down each balance, its minimum payment and any extra amount you can put toward it this month.
Give every remaining dollar a job. Subtract fixed, variable, savings and debt totals from your income, then assign whatever is left to a category until the number reaches zero.
Track your spending all month. Log each purchase in its category, ideally once a week, so you can see overspending while there is still time to adjust.
Review at month end. Compare what you planned with what you spent, then move the numbers up or down for next month.
Tips and common mistakes
Use real statement figures rather than what you think you spend, since groceries and eating out are usually underestimated.
Budget a monthly amount for irregular costs like car repairs, school fees and holidays so they do not break the plan.
Keep a small buffer line in case a bill comes in higher than expected.
Check your budget weekly instead of waiting until the end of the month.
Questions
How long does the first budget take?
Plan on about an hour to gather your statements and fill in the categories. After that, updating it each month takes 15 to 20 minutes.
What if my income changes from month to month?
Budget from your lowest expected month and treat anything extra as a bonus you assign to savings or debt when it arrives.
Should I budget before or after savings?
Put savings in as a fixed line before you assign fun money, so it does not get spent by accident.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
