Creating A Family Budget

 

When you sit down and actually record where your money goes, there are always surprises. More money may be going to food and other expenses than you think. There may be areas in which you can easily cut corners that you won’t see until it’s in writing. Rather than sitting down and deciding how much of your income should go to expenses such as food, clothes, entertainment, savings, etc., keep track of where the money is actually going. Using a simple pad of paper, write down everything that you and the other members of your family spend money on every day. Do it for a full month.

After a month of tracking all expenses, add up the total expenses of each category. You can decide how specific you want to get. Standard expense items are:

  • Housing (rent or mortgage)

  • Utilities

  • Telephone

  • Medical and Dental Insurance

  • Auto expenses

  • Food

  • Clothing

  • Housewares

  • Personal care

  • Child care or adult care

  • Education

  • Savings

  • Debt repayment

  • Entertainment

  • Gifts

  • Contributions

  • Miscellaneous

With the numbers in front of you, you can create a spending plan. If you feel you are allocating too much toward one category and not enough toward others, see what you can do to change that. Continue keeping records until you feel the situation is exactly the way you’d like it to be.

Cy-Fair FCU’s Money Management Tool
You can also take control of your finances with Cy-Fair FCU’s Money Management Tool. This powerful feature lets you connect all your accounts—both internal and external—into one easy-to-use platform. Track your spending, see exactly where your money is going, and set personalized budgets to help you stay on track.

To get started, simply log in to your online banking account, find the Money Management Tool, and begin adding the accounts you’d like to track and manage.

 
Cy-Fair FCU