LexChoice Finance

Living Large in Lexington while keeping the budget in check!

Your friends and families finances

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This is a guest post from J.Scott over at jinij the managing personal financial blog. To add your own guest post please contact me anytime!

Family and friends can be the best and the worst part of our lives at times. I cannot think of any thing better than when the grill is fired up and everyone is enjoying being together. On The other side of the coin, when you owe a family member or a friend and are unable to repay them being together can get uncomfortable to say the least. The best way to avoid these situations is not to borrow from the min the first place.

Knowing how to manage your finances is the best way to keep from borrowing money from anyone. Many people have the mind set that personal financial planning will keep you from enjoying the things you love to do, but it actually does the exact opposite. A good budget should include most of the things you love to do and cut out the things that you don’t realize your doing. Things like buying lunch at work everyday can be cut and replaced with things like a monthly family cookout. It is all about allocating the income you are making to serve you better. The hardest part of budgeting is getting started and since nothing beats undeniable proof , these two simple exercises will prove you either need a budget or you are already great with your money.

  1. For the next 30 days write down everything you buy even if its a pack of gum. You do not need to date your purchases just write the item and the price. You can use your phone or a small notepad and a pen.

  2. Gather all your bills and write down what you pay for but do not use; such as the other 100 channels of your cable TV.

At the end of the 30 days come back here and leave a comment of how much you are throwing away and if you think you need a budget. If nothing else, you will know where all your money goes at the end of the month and if you find you need a budget use the information to start one. Maybe in a few months the family and friends cookout could be at your house and all paid for by you. (Don’t forget to invite me)