Living On What's Left
By Terry Rigg
Are you one of those people that pay your bills no matter what?
That is an admirable trait to have when managing your money.
You made the bill and you feel you are responsible for paying
it. Good for you.
Now let's talk about how much money you have to cover your
household expenses after you pay all of those bills. Your
household expenses would include your groceries, car gas,
school lunches, and all of the other stuff that it takes to
run a household. Do you have enough to pay this bill?
All to often, people tend to pay their bills and try to live
on what's left. This never works unless you have enough money
left to cover these at home expenses. The grocery bill will
always run about the same, you will always need about the same
money for gas, etc. In other words, you need enough to live
on.
I have seen this time and time again. Another bill is made
and the money comes out of the household budget because there
is no money available in any other category. Then what happens?
Many people resort to using their credit cards to cover their
regular expenses. Since there is no other money available to
pay their increased credit card payments, that also has to come
out of their household expenses. This is how many people find
themselves in over their heads.
There is only one way to change this cycle. You have to allow
enough money in your budget to cover the things you need. You
must do this even at the expense of your other bills. That
could put you in a position that you can't make some of your
payments, but at lease you won't be increasing your debt, except
for possibly late fees. If this is your situation you need to
seek help to reduce the payments on your other bills.
Naturally, there are many ways to cut your household expenses
that will allow you to pay more toward your other bills. You
can save a lot of money on groceries by using coupons, buying
generic, not using processed foods, etc. The internet is full
of ideas and tips to help you save. I would start by visiting
The Frugal Shopper.
When you develop or revise your budget, always put the emphasis
on your household needs. Once you have determined how much you
need to get by, then you can see what is left for other bills.
Terry Rigg is the author of Living Within Your Means - The Easy
Stretcher Newsletter and receive The Complete Budget and Bill
Organizer absolutely free just visit his home page at
