Let’s Talk… Budgets for the Holidays!

So I manage people IRA’s and regular investment accounts but did you know that I also help people budget expenses? Here are some everyday tricks I use.

First, If you can’t stay within a budget, move to the envelope method. If your budget is $200 a week for groceries, pull out $200 cash and put in in an envelope. Mark on the outside “Grocery Money for the Week”. When it’s gone , it’s gone.

Second, look at how much money you are spending eating out. It never fails that when I have a client having trouble with cash flow, the culprit is usually dining out. Cooking is typically healthier and better for your wallet.

Third, use budgeting software to monitor your spending daily. If you have a meeting with me and this comes up, I will have you load your account on mint.com and bring me the reports. For most, income is not a problem but they need to be smarter with where they spend their money.