As we enter a time of change in America, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed about money. We worry about knowing we can cover the bills and whether we’re using our money the right way.
One easy way to start feeling more in control is to make a monthly family budget. Below are some important tools to help you set up a budget and reduce your stress around money, as well as other advice for tough situations.
How to make a family budget
Making a household budget is key to getting your family’s spending under control and reducing your stress around money. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a monthly household budget, with some helpful tools from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
You don’t have to follow every step. Use whatever tools below feel useful. It’s all about helping you feel more in control of your money.
- Track the money coming in. Start by getting a complete picture of all the money coming in, from your job or jobs that other members of your family have. Include other things like child support or government benefits, anything that helps you pay the bills. Use this helpful calculator below:
- Where does my money go? The hardest part of any budget is figuring out what you’re really spending all of your money on in an average month. Start small and look at your expenses one week at a time by either reviewing your receipts or checking account, or try making a daily log to make sure you’re getting all the small expenses – that cup of coffee or pack of gum – that add up over time. (This is not the place to track your monthly bills, like rent or heat, that comes next.) Use the calculator below:
- What are my monthly bills and when do I pay them? Even if you know how much your monthly bills are, the timing could be making it tough to make ends meet. An important part of your budget is figuring out when in the month you need to cut back on spending so that you can cover the bills that are due. Use the tool below to set up a calendar.
- Create your budget. Now pull everything together into a monthly plan that really works for you and your family. Put the information you’ve collected from your other worksheets here to figure out your budget.
What to do when you’re short this month
Sometimes, there just isn’t enough money in your budget to cover your bills. But there are strategies for dealing with your bills that can help you get back on your feet financially
Watch this video from the CFPB for Five tips when you can’t pay your bills:
Tell us what financial advice you wish you got when you were younger – so we can share it with others
The best advice always comes from our own community – from our parents and grandparents, our aunties and uncles, and from the older neighbor down the street. Folks who have faced the same challenges we’re all facing and learned something from it.
If you’ve got one of those lessons in mind, share it with us! Tell us what financial advice you wish you’d gotten when you were younger.
Learn more
More helpful information on financial planning is available from the CFPB:
- Buying a house
- Disasters and emergencies – A guide to handling your financial life as you prepare for natural disasters or events, or recover from a hurricane, flood, wildfire, or other emergency.
- Filing your taxes
- Getting an auto loan
- Helping a loved one manage their money – For those of us with an elderly parent or another family member unable to make financial decisions.
- Money as You Grow – Help for parents and caregivers
- Navigating the military financial lifecycle
- Paying for college
- Planning for retirement
Not sure where to start? Take the CPFB’s short Financial Wellness Quiz!
The fight ahead
Many of the programs that help working families could face changes or even total shutdown in the months ahead. Working America will be joining our allies in fighting for a fair economy and a government that gives working families what they deserve. Our strength comes from you – our members. Only by acting together can we fight back against the greedy corporations and their friends.
We’re asking all Working Americans to pledge to stay informed about what our leaders are doing about a fair economy and protecting consumers. Sign up here if you pledge to be part of that fight and if you want Working America updates and opportunities about a fair economy.
We know that these are uncertain times, and many of us are concerned about the future. Go to workingamerica.org/gethelp for more guides and tips on navigating the economy and preparing for the unknown.