Enjoying Your Income

Common sense and budgeting pay dividends…

You need to know exactly what and how your family is spending. All members of the family need to be involved in knowing how to spend the family dollar. Shopping for products in the convenience of your home can be satisfying, but you must be careful to ask the right questions and make the right decisions.

Money is important to all of us. The less money you have, the more important money may seem. How you manage the money you have is even more important. Because living costs are rising every year and incomes don't always keep up, you may need to adjust your spending if you are to maintain a satisfactory life-style and enjoy your income. Planning your spending gives you a chance to make some choices.

Spending is a family matter…

All members of the family need to be involved in planning how to spend family dollars. Young people learn about money management when they are involved in making family decisions about money.

Having a plan for spending your money gives you more control. You can plan ahead and spend without feeling guilty. By making and following a spending plan, you are in control and should have money from payday to payday. To plan your spending, estimate the amount of money your family has coming in during a certain time—a week, every two weeks, monthly or yearly. Look at this take home pay as the true amount you have to spend. Your income will include salaries, interest, social security payments, retirement checks or dividends. If wages are seasonal, figure an average of the usual amounts you earn in a week or month.

You need a total of each big item so you can see where you are putting your money. You may need to look carefully at your shopping habits. With living costs rising, it is more necessary than ever before to get the most from each dollar you spend.

To see if you're really getting satisfaction from your spending, ask yourself this question: "If I had extra money each month, what would I want to buy?" A new plan for spending may help you get the things you really want or need. Each family member probably wants at least part of any extra money, but the family as a whole should decide on how to spend extra money.

For more information on home budgets, contact your local county Extension office.