Budgeting. UGH.
I call it the “B Word” because so many people are resistant to the word BUDGETING. Nobody wants to Budget, right? Budgeting is all about deprivation and doing without. It’s like…gulp…dieting.
Budgeting doesn’t have to be a soul-sucking, frustrating experience. The way I teach it is fun, easy and powerful. From Main Street to Wall Street, simple budgeting is a great way to create goals and achieve them. You create a workable selling price as a bonus. Neat!
Budgeting focuses on spending. You don’t want to be wasteful or thoughtless when it comes to expenses. Little things add up.
The hardest part of budgeting is getting started. Here are 3 easy tips to get a jump start.
Tip 1: Journal your monthly expenses
Try making a note of all money in and money out in your journal. This helps increase your awareness of your spending. It’s expensive to be disorganized. Three trips to the office supply store instead of one adds fuel expense. Not using a shopping list means more impulse buying. Last minute FedEx charges can increase expenses dramatically.
Write down all sales and expenses in your journal for a month or so just to become more conscious of your spending. This doesn’t take the place of day to day accounting – keep up with all data entry in your accounting software. Use the journal to be aware of what is happening with your income and expenses The will help you create a more accurate budget.
Tip 2: Focus on Payroll
I like to really hone in on the Top Line of the Budget. You can only shave expenses so thin. The biggest expense is Payroll – or it should be! – so at some point, in order to make real changes in your prosperity, you have to bring in more Sales. Consider ways, no matter how far fetched, that you could increase Sales. Jot your ideas down in your Journal. Be creative.
This Budgeting thing is really fun once you get this idea: Budgeting is how you imagine and create your financial reality. If you have been stalling on getting your 2014 Budget done, you and I can do it together. Whoohoooo!
Tip 3: Check out my Budgeting Workshop
I hosted a Financial and Budgeting Online Workshop and you can buy the Workshop Replay. You will get a budgeting spreadsheet and we will work together in real time. By the end, you will have clear goals for sales, expenses and profit. We’ll get ‘er done in 90 minutes! (If you want to take a bit longer, you can. It’s up to you. My process is all about the FEW numbers that make all the difference. I keep things simple so you can get it done!)
- We’ll review the Balance Sheet, the Profit and Loss, and how to make more money!
- Are your financials a mess? I’ll share simple tips for getting current and accurate info.
- Profit? Cash? They are not the same thing. Let’s clear it up.
- You can Set Goals for this year…and Keep Score to Make More $!Want to grow? Add a new business or location? Give yourself or your team members a raise? Accommodate rising insurance costs? End the cash flow crunch? Budgeting can help with all of this and so much more!
- I’ll share a Simple Selling Price Strategy.
- Let’s do it together! The program includes the Budgeting form with Selling Price Calculator!
During the Workshop you’ll have the customizable form open on YOUR computer. You can follow along, and work on your Budget in the privacy of your home or office.
The accountability alone is a good reason to check out the Financial and Budgeting Workshop. What a great way to update your Budget or finally put one together, if you have been meaning to!
This Workshop includes the Budgeting and Selling Price form, a Job Pricing form…and a few more bonus reports and checklists to help you expand your financial understanding. So you and your team can listen in as you work on your Budget at your convenience.
