Millions in the country have celebrated the National Dollar Day. People have found one of the most novel ways to celebrate this day by making some smart financial decisions so as to derive the utmost return on investment (ROI) out of every dollar spent. In other words, they have made plans to reduce their living costs, boost their savings and stay debt free throughout.
So, are you eager to follow a fresh budget and save more money mid-way through the year? If yes, then read along.
What will land you in the league of super-savers?
First of all, you can skip gulping down those costly champagnes. Instead, you can enjoy moments like these by setting some practical and tangible financial goals for yourself. This could be anything related to budgeting, saving money or just simple frugal living. So, let this occasion of the National Dollar Day be your fresh source of motivation to get the most out of your each and every dollar.
Remember, these dollars are yours and you’ve earned them. Hence, make sure the ROI is the most that you can actually get.
When and how a budget calculator is helpful?
You could be planning a big-fat wedding, or buying your stationeries for college or you’re floating a business venture of your own. In that case, it is nothing but obvious to keep a good record of all your investments or transactions, otherwise it’ll become next-to-impossible to find out as to where your money is actually going.
Therefore, you can resolve your dilemma by using a free, online budgeting calculator. This is because it’ll not only streamline the process of money management for you, but it’ll also provide you with a window to look at the bigger picture and decide accordingly, as to where you’ve spent your dollars all this while.
What would you buy for the wedding?
You are deft in your planning to set up a perfect American wedding by having all that it would require - a classic dress, personalised invitations, flowers and of course the wedding cake.
However, before proceeding any further, are you really aware of your affordability to realize each and every detail of your wedding plan? During such scenarios, budgeting tools would come in handy for you by keeping a perfect track record of all your expenses so that you know where to draw the line in order to prevent breaking your bank.
As far as getting an estimate of the overall wedding expenses is concerned, then you can always take refuge with the specialized budgeting calculators namely, wedding budget calculator. Here, in these type of widgets, you can simply start off by putting in the figures for the wedding items you’ve planned to buy. Add to that, different other known figures like the total number of guests you're expecting on the D-Day and the number of people you want to invite for your wedding party.
When you are done with entering with the above discussed numbers, then an efficiently built wedding budget planner can give you a clearer picture of the actual costs by breaking them down into suitable categories. Thus, it would permit you to track the exact amount you are likely to spend for the grand event.
What about your start-up venture?
As per MSN Money, a leading financial website on the Internet, when planning to float a business venture, an entrepreneur like you should work on two of the most important categories - the initial start-up expenses and the recurring cost of operating the same.
To make it easier for you to understand, here’s an example:
Initially, you’ve made a one time deposit for all sorts of public utilities and then you receive just one monthly electric bill after that. As a result, you get your total utility expenses in the both the categories. Taking advantage of a start-up business calculator will enable you to get an estimate of your overall startup costs and also help you to decide the amount of cash reserve you’d require before opening the doors to your clients, i.e., business.
Does it help to budget for back-to-school shopping?
Yes, its true that a lot of states are offering its parents with tax breaks for all the expenditures incurred by them to fulfill the need of their back-to-school children. This is to provide them with some financial relief and help them save some precious dollars. But, the expenses for every individual child of a family could increase anyway. Add to that the money needed to buy additional equipments like sport kits or any sort of computer-related supplies.
So, if you’re identifying yourself with the above scenario, then you can make good use of the back-to-school budget calculators that are available at scores of financial websites. Budgeting calculators such as these will not only allow you to find out the amount needed to pay for your child’s education but also, educate you and your child about the importance of budgeting and may even boost your money management knowledge.
What does the money experts ultimately say?
Lets talk about what our financial guru, Suze Orman has to say about saving money and budgeting. According to her, you should slash your family (read: fun) spending by at least 10 percent every month. So, if you’ve been spending around $100 on your lattes, movies and gaming every month, then cutting down that amount to $90 won’t make hell of a difference in your life or for that matter in your family member's life. The difference here, this time would be that not only you or your family members are happy, but your wallet is too.
Debt expert, Dave Ramsey has a different take on matters related to money and debt. You know why? Because he knows why you always end up breaking your bank, even though you’ve tried your level best to budget and save money. The answer is, you forget to count in your food dollars when planning your monthly household budget. And even if you do, then like most others, you too severely under budget your monthly grocery bills.
Therefore, even if you’re contributing $100 toward your savings account, the fact is almost $80 of the same gets spent on trivial items. Therefore, he suggests people like you to add up all the grocery costs at the end of a month, including your Starbuck coffees or that occasional Burger King treat. Add to the final figure $50 approx.
The grocery budget that you’ll get now will be your real one. So, if you spend below the stipulated budget, then it’d be great, or else, there’s always room left for improvement.