Struggling to Keep Track of Your Finances? Try Making a Budget

A budget is a great way for you to organize your finances and plan for the future. It is important to know where your money is going, what your income is, and what your living expenses are. Though it does sound overwhelming, the outcome can be very positive. If you learn how to budget, you can learn how to save, which means you will have more opportunities to spend your money on the things most important to you. Budgeting doesn’t have to be scary, that’s why we’ve got great resources for you!

Let’s look at Government of Canada’s “Making a Budget” to learn why creating a budget is important:

A budget is a plan that helps you manage your money, know your income, track your spending, and save. Making a budget can help you balance your income with your savings and expenses and can guide your financial goals.

Here are some additional reasons why a budget is important:

• You can set spending limits
• Save regularly to pay off debts
• Reduce costs and save money
• Save for things important to you
• Feel in control of your money
• Reduce stress

These are the top free resources for Budgeting according to CNBC:

• Try Google Sheets for your desktop or mobile device

• Try Mint for your mobile device (check out a beginner tutorial for Mint here)

Try the resources above to make a budget right for you. Google Sheets requires you to manually input your spending, but Mint does not. 

*The information above was sourced from Making a budget - Canada.ca and Best Free Budgeting Tools of 2022 (cnbc.com).