Creating a budget is a huge step to financial freedom but creating one and creating one that you can actually stick to are two different things. Use our helpful steps to create a budget that works for you and one that you can be successful with.

No. 1 Establish your goals.

You should know what you are budgeting for. Is it to buy a house, pay down debt, or to create an emergency fund? No matter what it is, write your goals down on a sheet of paper and put it with your budget. It will serve as a constant reminder and motivation.

No. 2 Gather all financial documents.

When putting together a budget, you need to know what your bills are. To do this, gather all of your financial documents. You also need to know your income so you can create the budget correctly.

No. 3 Create a plan with all decision makers.

creating a budgetIf you are budgeting for yourself, then you should be ready to go but if you have a partner, make sure they are in on the budgeting process so everyone is on the same page.

No.4 Start with your monthly income.

When you know exactly how much money you have to begin with, you can create a budget within those terms.

No. 5 Track all fixed expenses.

Write down all of your monthly expenses that you absolutely have to pay and the amounts. These fixes expenses should have similar costs each month. This would be things like rent, car insurance and more.

No. 6 Take into account variable expenses.

Once you have your fixed expenses down, you can track your variable ones. This would be stuff like groceries, gas, and other items that you need but the price will vary.

No.7 Add some space to pay down debts.

If you do have debt, whether you goal is to pay it down or not, make sure you take into account some budgeting space to do so.

No. 8 Budget for all minimum payments and a little bit extra.

The sooner you pay it off, the sooner you can enjoy more of your money. If you do not have debt, budget in some savings that is put into a savings account.

No. 9 Budget in fun stuff.

If you want to stay sane, make sure you budget in some fun money. You do not have to be specific about what you will spend it on, just make sure you have some fun money each month to play with.

No. 10 Review and alter it every month.

Even with the best preparation, your first budget is not going to be perfect. You will learn with each month. Review and tweak it accordingly to make it better every time.

Good luck!