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Usually when we want something that has not been budgeted for we charge it. This results in paying monthly bills with interest added on. This means you are paying over and over again on the total balance.
How much money would you be able to put away from your income without missing it?
Perhaps this is as little as ten cents or as much as half of what you get. Whatever this amount is will be determined by what your needs and wants are.
What are needs? These are items that are a must for your lifestyle. These changes from person to person. A person's list of needs may look like this:
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What are wants?
These are things that are not needs but would make one's lifestyle easier or more enjoyable. These also change from person to person.
A person's want list may look like this:
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What are your needs? List them with their monthly costs.
What is the total of your monthly needs cost? ___________
How much is your income? ___________
What is the difference between your monthly needs and your income? ___________
You do have options. You can get more income or decide which needs can be done without.
If your monthly income is greater than your monthly needs cost then you can afford to have wants. What are your wants? List them and what you think they cost.
Perhaps you cannot afford to have all your wants at this time. You may be able to afford one or more of them each month. If you can't afford any of your wants, you could put money away each month to save for one of your wants. Once you have the money needed to purchase your want, you can put money away for the next item.
You will have to decide the safest place to keep your savings. You may have the strength to put money away and not touch it, but this does not stop unscrupulous characters from taking it from you. When you consider this, the best place to put your savings could be a savings account in a bank.
Too often people cut entertainment from their needs list. This is all right for short periods of time, but it is not all right to do it consistently. Life has to be fun every now and then to make it worth living. Maybe you can only afford a three dollar video rental or a seventy-five cent ice cream bar each month, but this is the highlight or fun in your month. Some individuals trade their entertainment fund in for luxuries. They may choose to buy butter instead of margarine. In this way they enjoy themselves and their lives throughout the month. Since this is a conscious decision they made themselves, they are happy.
There are other ways to have fun that cost no money at all. These help supplement the entertainment fund and make your life worth living. List the ones you can think of.
Sometimes individuals feel so down hearted about their lot in life they isolate themselves and become depressed. Sometimes these individual's depression becomes so deep they commit suicide or use drugs, alcohol, or food to cover the depression up. Do not allow yourself to become depressed, put some sparkle in your life. Take joy in your ability to save and buy what you want with cash.
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