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Back
to business
HOLIDAY revelry is over. Resolutions and intentions are laid
down for the New Year. Who doesn't want to become a better
person? We all want to smile more and frown less. Exercise
more and binge less. Save more and spend less.
But the latter requires more courage than any other attitude-mending
wish we can come up with. The rollout of 2002 also brings
with it renewals of mortgage contracts, insurance premiums,
taxes due, credit card payments, etcetera. In going back to
the normalcy of dealing with financial obligations, it would
be easy to fall in a daze and lose track of financial goals.
The only trick to do is write down your budget for the year
as any other business entity or company would do for its operations.
First, you must project your household's total income for
the year. Second, list down all expenses and classify them
into either fixed or variable expenses. Fixed expenses are
usually payables like mortgage and insurance payments that
come in regular monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual installments.
Expenses that may be higher in one month or lower in another
month due to many factors fall in variable expenses.
Divide each category of expenses into 12 in order to come
up with a monthly spending plan. It is wise to build up a
separate fund for paying big bills like property taxes, tuition,
and vacation expenses. Another separate savings for contingency
is also essential in preparing for unexpected expenses like
the sudden replacement of a household appliance or the inevitable
breakdown of an automobile's major parts.
Make your spending plan a must-do at every start of the year.
Plan as if you are the president of your own company and act
as if you owe every single cent of savings as dividends to
your hard-working self. As the Corleone family in the book
"The Godfather" puts it, "It's business, not
personal." Indeed, if you want to stick to your financial
resolutions, try to mean business. Real business. *
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ANNUAL / MONTHLY BUDGET GUIDE
INCOME
Total Salary _________
Interest _________
Others _________
Total Income _________
EXPENSES
A. Fixed Expenses
Taxes _________
Rent/Mortgage_________
College Tuition_________
Insurance
Life _________
Property _________
Automobile________
Medical _________
Debt Payments_________
Savings _________
Total Fixed
Expenses __________
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B. Variable Expenses
Food _________
Utilities _________
Home maintenance
_________
Furnishing _________
Clothing _________
Personal care________
Car maintenance
_________
Fares, tolls _________
Medical care _________
Dental care _________
Entertainment________
Gifts _________
Total Variable
Expenses __________
Total Expenses________
SUMMARY
Total Income ________
Minus Total Exp________
Balance _______
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Renzi is a graduate of Economics with a Masters
Degree in Business Administration from the University of St.
La Salle. While working full-time in the Trust & Investments
Division of one of the 10 largest banks in the Philippines,
she dabbles into writing and does mountain biking as her weekend
hobby. You may email the author at renzijuarez@philippinestoday.net
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