“Save money to buy a house? I can’t even save money to buy a new mattress!” I can’t tell you how many times I have had this conversation (or some form of this conversation). Saving, budgeting or lack there of is a very hard discussion to have, but a very important conversation to start talking about and to keep talking about until the behavior you want to achieve is manifested. Berry Bunch Realty is dedicated to help start the conversation with our new blog topic ‘Cents & Sense’. Here we will, with your help and much needed comments share tips & advice that anyone, at any level can begin new behaviors that will begin to help them achieve that new home purchase, or knock off an item on their bucket list or help them get that…’I’ve wanted this all my life’…item.

We will post monthly little changes you implement in your daily spending that will be designed to help you in your saving journey.

Welcome to our first post Cents & Sense ‘ Do I Budget or Do I Save? ‘ and remember to add your knowledge in the comment section and we grow , learn & save together.

Keeping with the K.I.S.S method of explanation a budget is the act of taking into account your net (after taxes) income (let’s call this amt Cash On Hand or COH)and all your expenses (food,gas,rent,etc) for a specific timeline (such as a month). Saving is the money left over after you have subtracted your expenses from your COH. Simple, right?

So where should I start? Well, keeping the the K.I.S.S. theory if you are having problems paying all your expenses then Berry Bunch Realty suggest you start with budgeting…

Making a budget is simply the act of planning where your money will go. While it doesn’t have to be an exact science, there are common categories that you can split expenses into such as housing, transportation, and food.

Now, if your are fine paying your bills then you are ready for saving. Now savings is simply the cash you set aside after all your expenses have been paid for.

Here is our first time tip if you are on the budget track: If you want to start budgeting you need to understand exactly how much is coming in and out of your account every month, YES, EVERY month.

The best way to do this is to track all of your income and expenses over a 30-day period. Doing this will start to help you focused on every single transaction and either noting it down in a spread sheet or writing it all down in a budget journey. After you have a good idea of your spending habits, then the journey begins with creating a budget.

Look out for your next Cents And Sense update to help keep you on track and please don’t forget to leave your comments to help us guide the blog post. See you on the other side of wealth building.