1.4 How to budget

In this section:

• 1.4.1 Budgets
• 1.4.2 My monthly budget
• 1.4.3 Surplus or deficit?
• 1.4.4 The envelope system
• 1.4.5 Keep your budgeting system alive
• 1.4.6 Summary of key messages

Introduction

There are many ways to manage your cash flow and your spending. For some people, a paper budget works best. For others, a system in which money is allocated to different categories in advance is more practical.

This section presents systems for managing cash flow. In it you will learn:

• how to compare income with expenses in a household budget
• how to adjust your budget to balance it or even achieve a surplus
• how to set up an envelope or jar system and allocate funds for different categories
• how to keep your budgeting system up-to-date and realistic.