5 Important Steps for Creating a Family Budget

Family is the center of life for many people. Unfortunately, it can also be the source of a lot of anxiety and tension. Paying bills is always challenging, and budgeting can be a severe challenge. However, there are some steps that an employee can take to ensure the budget they design is workable and sustainable.

1. Determine Income and Expenses

It all starts by determining the total income available to the family. Sources of income such as salaries, bonuses, freelance work, investments, and government benefits should be reviewed. Additionally, a record of all expenses, including fixed fees like rent or mortgage and variable expenses like groceries and utilities should be included. This accumulation of statistics is the easiest part of the process.

2. Prioritizing

The budget must reflect what is necessary to protect financial wellness. Essential expenses like utilities, housing, debt payments, and tuition must be prioritized over discretionary costs.

3. Goal Setting

Short-term and long-term financial goals for the family must be set. Goals include saving for emergencies, a new home, retirement, or vacation.

4. Debt Management

Let’s face it; debt is the worst threat to financial wellness. A plan for managing and systematically paying off debt must be part of the budget development. We suggest that debt repayment be a priority and that employees explore various strategies for reducing the load.

5. Savings Allocation

A portion of the income must go to savings. Savings provide the safety net for family needs and help achieve financial goals. The amount can be anywhere from 10 to 20% of the income.

Other things to consider include flexibility and a regular review of the budget. Everything said thus far contributes to fiscal stability, but the average person doesn’t fully understand how to design a budget. Fortunately, Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services has a benefit that promotes financial wellness and offers excellent advice.

Professional Assistance Is Available

We have a nationwide network of certified counselors who help with everyday money matters. These professionals can help a person create a sustainable budget covering all the bases. A budget analysis is the first step. The Countrywide counselor will then review the cash flow and recommend adjusting figures to better meet expenses and financial goals. What else will counselors do to promote financial wellness?

There are several ways of dealing with debt; counselors will go over that with a plan member. Granted, some of these ideas take time to produce benefits, but if a plan member follows the advice carefully, achieving goals happen naturally. Debts are paid, emergencies or plans for, and savings for the future are all part of a reasonable budget. Our counselors provide workable blueprints.

Interaction with Clients Is Important

Countrywide does not act in a vacuum. We strongly believe in collaborating with clients to produce a financial wellness benefit every employee will appreciate. We ask our prospective clients to help in creating that excellent employee benefit.

We discuss our financial wellness options with prospective clients and point out how each one provides a valuable service to employees. We then ask the decision-makers to choose what options will be part of their unique plan. Countrywide understands that not all services will be selected, which is fine with us. It is more important that the employees get the best help. We guarantee that with streamlined administration and superior member services. A reference check with any of our clients will show how satisfied people are with Countrywide.