Balancing your finances is something every adult has to deal with, and while some people are better at managing their money than others, things can easily get out of hand if you are not careful. If you find it difficult to stretch your salary to the end of the month, here is our guide to budgeting your monthly income.

• Financial Planning – Ask any financial expert and they will gladly confirm that planning is the key to knowing exactly where you stand with your finances. Create an essential expense list; things that you have to pay, such as mortgage/rent, insurances, utilities and transportation to name but a few. All these items have to be paid and when they are totalled up, you subtract that figure from your net salary, which leaves you an amount that you can play with.
• Non-Essential Expenses – You could call these luxury items, things that you could actually do without, and it is important to be honest with yourself when listing your outgoings. If, for example, you’re drinking more than you should, then crunch the numbers to determine exactly how much of your monthly salary is spent on alcohol.
• Balancing the Numbers – When crunching the numbers, you should reach a point where you have determined how much of your income is spent on various aspects of living, and this should leave an amount that is ‘free money’.
• Create a Daily Budget – Once all your essential bills are removed from the list, you now know how much you have for the month, and by creating a daily budget, this should be well within your remaining funds. Once you have done this, it is essential that you do not exceed this figure and if you can achieve this, you will actually be able to save a little. In the event you run out of cash and there are still a few days to go until you get paid, there’s always Nimble payday loans, an easy online solution to a short-term personal loan to cover you until you are paid, and there are no hidden fees.
• Collect Coins – Regardless of your lifestyle, you will end up with coins in your pocket at the end of every day and by dropping them into a big coin jar, you will not even know the difference. As the jar fills up, you are actually creating a small emergency fund that could be used in any number of ways.
• Self-Discipline – It is essential that you have the self-control to live according to the plans you have created, and whenever you are about to make a purchase, ask yourself if this is really necessary? If it isn’t, then don’t spend the money. One good thing about planning your finances is after a while, it becomes second nature and you will find yourself walking past supermarket items that you can’t really afford.
• Look to the Future – It is vital that you have attainable goals for the future, so do start thinking about how you will invest the money that you are saving every single month, as this will give you the motivation to carry on with your plan.

Once you have created a list of essential and non-essential expenses, it will become clear how you can manage your money, and as tough as it might be, it is a far better alternative than getting into debt.