New Year, New Budget –  But How To Get Started?

New Year, New Budget – But How To Get Started?

With 2018 now well and truly here, the time has come to recover from your holiday spending and plan your budget for the next year. However, many find this a difficult and exhausting task. Where do you begin? Priti Lad Professional Corporation has compiled a list of top tips that are sure to get your new fiscal year off to a great start, aimed at helping you focus on the most important details without becoming overwhelmed.

Analyze Expenditures from the Previous Year

They say that to move forward, you must first learn from the past. This extends to your spending habits from last year, as analyzing where your money went will help you develop a more comprehensive understanding of how to approach this year’s budgetary allotments. Bills, repairs, food, renovations, and other necessary expenses such as tax payments or car maintenance should be included, as should expenses such as vacations, entertainment, and other factors such as tuition or child care costs. Compiling them all into a list, and identifying which proved to be the costliest helps to indicate where you need to focus your attention on the most. Then, you can make a well-informed decision on what to reduce or increase spending on this year. Be sure to examine smaller expenses as well, however, as they can add up. It could be that there are expenses lingering that are no longer needed this year (such as reducing your phone bill due to a better deal being made available, for instance).

Consider Fiscal Changes that Will Affect You

Are you a business who needs to increase their minimum wage? Or, perhaps you’re a student faced with fluctuating tuition and program-associated fees. Regardless, it’s important to consider any changes in the financial landscape that could directly or indirectly impact your budget. This will help you maintain your standard of living more efficiently by addressing these changes rather than ignoring them. When planning your budget, be sure to accommodate for these fluctuations, and treat every year as unique. Be careful not to assume that everything will remain the same as last year from a financial perspective.

Work Through One Expense at a Time

The key to maintaining a healthy budget is not to get overwhelmed. By focusing on each individual expenditure one at a time when planning for the new year, you can have a healthy, accurate, and strong budget from the get-go, bypassing frustrations and stresses later on if you follow your budgetary plans carefully. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when planning a new budget, but taking the “one foot in front of the other” approach is certain to ease tensions and help you make greater sense of where your money is best allocated.

Factor in the Unknown

It’s always in your best interests to have a little something set aside in the event of an unforeseen circumstances. Hospital visits, unexpected trips, surprise repair costs, and many other unplanned expenses are all a part of everyday life, and by planning to allow for some financial flexibility in this regard, you can face whatever the new year brings without endangering your budget.

These tips are sure to get you started in the right direction towards the perfect budget. If you need more hands-on help with specific aspects of your financial planning, however, professional accounting and bookkeeping services are available at cost-effective rates and are a definite way of improving your financial stability.

Author

Corey Reed is an Ottawa-based freelance writer with a passion for ocean liners and retro gaming. He has published a wide variety of content including reviews, essays, and retrospectives that can be found at www.coreyreed.net.

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