Stazstaz's Personal Finance Blog

Budgeting and saving go hand in hand when it comes to creating a better financial situation for yourself. You can't have a great savings plan without knowing how to budget and you can't budget properly without saving.

The first thing you need to do is make a proper budgeting plan. Figure out exactly how much money you make and how much money you spend. Do you have anything left over? Are you constantly in the red? Take note of these aspects of your financial situation so you can better them in the future.

Once you know how much money you have leftover each month, you can decide how to properly split it up between your investments, debts, savings, charity donations etc. If you have a particular savings goal in mind, such as saving up for a down payment, then obviously you'll want to place the majority of your leftover money to help support that. If you feel you have more debt than you can easily carry, you might want to consider putting your leftover money into your debts to lower them and increase your credit score.

Whether it comes to paying down your debts or saving up some money, budgeting is an absolutely crucial step in your journey. Once you know how much you can set aside towards you goal, you can determine if your plan needs adjusting. Do you need a second job for a little bit to help you get ahead? Should you cut back on some of your expenses and live a more frugal life to help you put away more? Maybe you’d like a healthy mixture of saving as well as paying down some debts to help your overall financial outlook and build up your credit score. You can focus on putting all your money in one particular area or having them dispersed throughout to give you a more balanced financial portfolio.

Whatever you decide, it’s important to stick to your budget if you want to accomplish your goals. Perhaps you can cut out your morning latte? Rent a movie instead of going out to the theatre? Buy food that is on sale and in season to save you money at the grocery store. There are many ways to cut back but it depends on what you spend most of your money on. If there is a particular aspect that you are spending too much on and can easily be removed, remove it! Cut back whatever you can to reach your goals faster. It’s important to remember that whatever changes you want to make in your current financial status, nothing will change overnight. You have to keep working at your budgeting plan, improving it, adjusting it and following through on it to really see a difference.

As you can see, budgeting is an important part of getting your finances on track. Without it, you'd never know exactly how much you have or how much you need to fulfill your goals. Savings are also an important part of being financially savvy since you never know when unexpected expenses will come up and you want to be as prepared as possible.