Gas prices are just gross, the cost of milk is ridiculous, and the prices of food? Do not get me started! Let’s face it; the cost of EVERYTHING in general has gone up dramatically in recent months. It’s no wonder there seems to be a lot of talk about budgeting these days. If you don’t already have a budget, it can seem like a daunting task to create one. However, creating a budget is easy and will only require an hour or two of your time.

1.Round up your most recent statements: bank/credit card/loan statements, pay stubs, investment accounts, recent utility/insurance bills.

2. Make note of all your sources of income. Record this total income as a monthly amount.

3. Create a list of monthly expenses. Be sure to remember the little things like your morning coffee or bank fees.

4. Create two categories for your expenses: fixed and variable. Expenses like your rent/mortgage are a fixed; they don’t/won’t change from month to month. Variable expenses are those which fluctuate month to month like groceries, gas, and eating out.

5. Add up your total monthly income and expenses.

6. Make adjustments where necessary. If your income is greater than your expense, decide where you can invest the extra money. If expenses are greater than your income, it is time to see where changes can be made: take an honest look at your variable expenses and see which ones can be reduced.

7. Review your budget on a regular basis. This helps you know if you are staying on track.

Here are some useful resources/tools that can help you get started:

weekly spending worksheet

monthly budget work sheet
Quicken Online Edition – Try it out for free!

Mint (a free online resource which tracks where your money goes)

Jennifer is a wife, mother of three and full time student. She can be found taking a break on her blog, I Call Times! where she rambles on about her kids, her life and her adventures as she tries to fit it all in and have fun  along the way.