Budgeting for Singles

“I’m single and have the world at my feet. I have money and there are so many things I want.”

Well that’s what might be going through your mind for all those single people out there. Whether you have just left School/College/University or have made the decision to leave home or maybe you have found yourself taking the world on by yourself. There are now suddenly huge responsibilities that you might never have faced before. The first of those is how to spend your money…

Of course, there are millions of ways to spend your money. Spending money is easy. Spending it on the right things, however, is a bit more tricky.

So where should your money be going? When it really comes down to it, the answer is different for everyone. Different people will view some things as more important than others and therefore will spend their money differently.

There are no absolute right and wrong ways of spending your money. But there are some things that should be paid, before spending your money on things you might not need. Rent and food, for example, might be a bit more important than going out and getting the latest cell phone or tablet. This is why everyone needs to BUDGET!

Budgeting is essential for anyone regardless of their situation, but it’s even more important when you’re single. Since you’re the only one earning income and still have bills to pay, you need to be sure that you’re making the most of what you have since you don’t have someone else’s income to fall back on.

If you get into a situation where more money is going out than is coming in, it’s up to YOU to adjust your budget and plan accordingly.

While you might not want to create hundreds of different categories to save for, having a general idea of what you should be allocating money to is advisable. A common trend is creating a fixed costs category where your your rent, medical aid and water would fall into for example. These are costs that need to be paid each month, every month.

When looking to cut down on spending you can normally look at your fixed costs as a pace where you might be able to save on. Next you will have to allocate money to flexible costs that need to be paid for on a regular basis like groceries and airtime. These costs change from month to month but non the less need to be paid and you need to allocate your money appropriately.

Building an emergency fund is crucial. You need to put money aside as often as possible for that rainy day that almost everyone has at some point in their life. Lastly you should set a financial goal, rather save up for something you might want than going out and buying it now and putting you in a difficult place financially for the immediate future.

At the end of the day you must do what works best for you, because if you find it’s too much work to maintain your budget, you’ll just stop using it and that won’t be any help.

Start using the Smart Money Budget Planner today in order allocate your money for the right things and not the things that you might want but don’t need. Start here!

This article was adapted for Smart Money and was taken from: https://money101.co.za/budgeting-for-the-single-life/