A good way to make sure you stay on budget is to keep track of your expenses. The last post talked about the Dave Ramsey Plan. In the plan, it talks about using the Debt Snowball theory. I have taken this theory and entered it into a spreadsheet. It really helps to be able to visually see where your money is going and how planning ahead will help you pay of your debts faster. Here is a quick look at and example of the plan. Any budget plan you make is a good one as long as it works for you. This is just one way to create a budget that will help you stay out of debt and begin to build a stronger financial foundation. The figures here are made up, but close to what normal debt/monthly income ratios may be. Some variables may change, but you’ll get the main idea.
| Smith Family Finances | ||||||||
| 2/9/2009 14:06 | ||||||||
| Debts | ||||||||
| Steps | Needed | Months | Yrs | Yrs For All | Mths For All | |||
| CapitalOne | $- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |||
| Student Loans | $9,050.00 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.3 | |||
| Car Loan | $10,950.75 | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 7.4 | |||
| Mortgage | $84,985.45 | 31.3 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 38.7 | |||
| Boat Loan | $8,650.85 | 3.2 | 0.3 | 3.5 | 41.9 | |||
| $- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 41.9 | ||||
| $- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 41.9 | ||||
| $- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 41.9 | ||||
| $- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 41.9 | ||||
| $- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 41.9 | ||||
| $- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 41.9 | ||||
| $- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 41.9 | ||||
| $- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 41.9 | ||||
| Total Savings After 20 yrs. | $570,261.08 | $1,678,540.51 | Compound interest! | |||||
| Total Savings After 10 yrs. | $202,102.90 | $319,346.52 | ||||||
| Monthly Budget | ||||||||
| Mortgage | $750.00 | |||||||
| Golds Gym | $50.99 | 1st of the month = | $1,622.96 | |||||
| Pacific Corp | $80.00 | 15th of the month = | $814.47 | |||||
| State Farm Ins. | $150.00 | |||||||
| Groceries | $300.00 | Debt paid | 1st | $27.05 | $2,762.58 | |||
| Cash (Shopping) | $100.00 | 15th | $2,735.54 | |||||
| Church | $300.00 | |||||||
| Compassion | $95.00 | |||||||
| T-Mobile | $95.00 | |||||||
| Retirement | $100.00 | |||||||
| Car Payment | $258.93 | |||||||
| Student Loans | $105.00 | |||||||
| Boat Loan | $100.00 | |||||||
| $- | ||||||||
| $- | ||||||||
| Total Monthly Budget | $2,484.92 | |||||||
| Monthly Income | ||||||||
| Bruce | $3,300.00 | |||||||
| Brenda | $1,900.00 | |||||||
| $- | ||||||||
| $- | ||||||||
| $- | ||||||||
| Total Monthly Income | $5,200.00 | |||||||
| Snowball Amount | $2,715.08 | |||||||
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