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I find that one of the most difficult things to do is budgeting income allocation on expenses. I make a decent living but find that I pay my bills and have nothing left over to take care of unexpected expenses. Are there any suggestions on how to budget appropriately and prioritize expenses?

There’s no cookie-cutter solution for this one. All I can do is refer you to a finance blog I visit every now and then, they have a few articles on budgeting.

http://financialbasics.blogspot.com/2006/11/controlling-your-cash-flow.html

http://financialbasics.blogspot.com/2006/11/using-cash-to-stay-within-budget.html

http://financialbasics.blogspot.com/2006/11/personal-budget-planning-tips.html

http://financialbasics.blogspot.com/2006/11/creating-budget.html

http://financialbasics.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-to-simplify-your-living-expenses.html

I think 5 is enough. Anyway, it’s better to have a handful of opinions…

All the Personal Financail Planning software I found just like Personal Accounting or just a Retirement Calculator. Where can I find a real Personal Financial Planning software which covered everything included my clear dept planning, risk protection, education and retirement planning?

Hi,
I can recomend you a piece of software I have been using lately and am quite happy with – Personal Finance Associate by Parcus Group.
Simple to use software with features incl. budgeting, financial planning templates, shares valuation, real estate investments analysis, life insurance, taxation calculator etc.
Definitely check it out at:
http://www.parcusgroup.com/
Great value for money for US$24 or AU$29 for a single user license.

My husband owns a very small pest control company. We do not get paid on a regular basis and the amount always varies depending on how many jobs he has that week. We are trying to get on a budget and I am not sure what to do. We’ve been on a budget before back when he worked for a company and got paid a certain amount each week. I do not know how to account for the variations.

Take out a sheet of paper and write down each and every expense that you have. Next, put them in order of importance. I recommend starting with food, shelter, utilities, and clothing. From there move into debts and finally at the end of the list, unfortunately, should be entertainment.

As money comes in pay the items in the order you listed them. For instance, at the beginning of the month you will need to pay the rent/mortgage. Once that is paid for use whatever money is left over to pay the next item on the list.

Each time you are paid just start where your last income left off and go down your list. It is a great idea to set aside a little money each time you are paid to build an emergency fund of one to two thousand dollars to help you through any slow times you may see in the future.

Should you want more information regarding budgeting or emergency funds you can check out cash-in-full.com. It is a blog focused on personal finance.

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

Anyone have any tips? Also, is there any site online that is free to help form your budget?

The best book is "Personal Finance for Dummies" by John Tyson. If you follow the steps, you’ll be organized.
You can get the book from your library, or buy it used on Amazon.com.

Microsoft has some spreadsheets that help with budgeting.

Go to Microsoft.com, and type in "Excel budget template" in the search box.

Best of luck!

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/24/news/economy/public_tuition_soars/index.htm

how does the above relate to personal finance? All i can think of is we learn about budgeting in that class and that class i guess prepares us for college, but i don’t think that’s the right answer or what the teachers looking for.

Higher college tuitions mean more cost to you in the future.

That means you will have to plan for this increase (and even better any future increase) in your budgeting.
You will need to save more today to pay more tomorrow OR find an investment that return more so you will still hit your target.

I know nothing about personal finance. My parents never taught me and I need a complete introuduction to budgeting, saving, and investing. Step by step guidande kind of stuff. Does any have advice?

Good for you for asking this question!

I am going to suggest you start with just one book (and an alternate). Buy (or borrow from the library) The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Personal Finance (4th edition). This is about the best book of its type that I have found.

As an alternate, consider Personal Finance for Dummies (4th ed). While I dislike the "Dummies" name, their books are usually pretty good, and not for Dummies at all.

Personally, I don’t think Suzie Orman is all that great.

What is your least favorite personal finance task? Is it creating and maintaining a budget, paying bills, analyzing your monthly spending, managing your health care expenses, keeping your financial documents organized, balancing your checkbook, or something else?

Which (if any) of these tasks would you consider outsourcing to a financial professional if you had the opportunity?

I generally love personal finance tasks, so this is like "what is your least favorite ice cream?" Here are my least favorites:

1. Budgeting – I don’t do it, my savings are automatically deducted and I spend the rest (I usually do have a lot left over, though).

2. Portfolio choices – Seeing those negative signs on your investments is tough.

I wouldn’t outsource anything to a financial planner; I know more about finances than most, though.

I am currently sixteen and a half. I’ve finally reached the point where I’m no longer satisfied with living at home.

My father is in the military and we are being stationed in Germany for three years. When I turn eighteen I cannot live on base with them, so I will have to come back to the states. My parents will help pay for college, and all other expenses are my responsibility. If I do not manage to find a family member to stay with or cannot find a roommate, I need to know what to do.

In my Personal Finance class I learned about credit cards (how one should not using them), savings, and budgeting. The problem I am having is that I am not quite sure what I will have to use my money on. I know the basics: rent, utilities, bills, food, gas money, etc. In other words, I’m simply not sure where to start. I can get a job and save. I just need some tips on this moving out thing.
If it is of importance, I’m not a very materialistic person, this I am not the kind of person to blow money on pointless things. As long as I have the necessities I am fine.

You should consider thr military yourself. Maybe the U.S. Coastguard.

I’m currently studying accounting at college and plan to be an accountant/financial professional with possibly opening a financial services firm eventually. My question is, besides taxes, can being an accountant serve any advantage with budgeting and smart spending?

Accounting is the basis for all financial matters. For background clients like to see CPA and CFP on your business card. So you would want to start as a tax person at a large CPA firm since taxes are basic to all financial planning and then get into planning and investments.

In this interview, Cristie Richards, discusses her experience as a budgeting mentor. Learn about two techniques that can help you and your family stick to your budget: the Spending Diary and the Envelope Method.

Duration : 0:4:14

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