We’ve all done it at one time or another; created our family budget, checked it, double checked it and then walked away. Later on, maybe a week or two later, we discover that we’ve forgotten something, drastically under budgeted something or worse. Suddenly before we know it, we’re off budget and scrambling to pay a bill or maybe even our mortgage or rent payment. To avoid those things in your life, you should have someone else look at your budget each month.
Budget For Family Tip
If you’ve gotten off on your budget recently, don’t be upset or frustrated. It happens more than most of us would like to admit and is something that every single one of us do. As we get comfortable in our budgets, it becomes easy to get into the habit of just assigning the same amount of money to the same budget category over and over. This is truly dangerous to your budget because it doesn’t leave you much room to account for new expenses or emergencies and you may end up forgetting an important one. On the other hand, it also can cause overspending when you don’t remove an expense that is no longer valid or that you’ve been wanting to drop, but haven’t yet.
Having a second set of eyes look over things can take care of both of those issues. It gives your budget the chance for fresh eyes to double check to see if you’re missing any expenses, if you’re still paying for something you don’t need or want to be, if your amounts are correct and if your math adds up. It ensures that your budget is 100% correct and that any mistakes are quickly corrected before they add up to big debt or trouble.
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Who should you ask to take a look at it? Usually a parent, close friend or other relative is a great idea. Keep in mind though that you need to trust this person with no doubts since they will not only be looking at your income, but will also be advising you on your finances. That also means that you need to make sure that they are great at managing their own finances as well so that you won’t be lead down the wrong path by someone who may mean well, but be too inexperienced to really help.
When you ask them to take a look, be sure that you explain to them why you’re asking and what you hope to gain from it. If you admire their financial skills, be sure to tell them! Everyone loves to hear a compliment and as long as you keep it honest, most will be glad to help!
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