Easy Budget 2021 – New Year, New Budget

Easy Budget with Simple Budget Categories - Learn how to budget better and get control of your finances! #savemoney #budgets #budgeting #personalfinance #moneytips
Easy Budget with Simple Budget Categories

Ahhh… The New Year is upon us.  Many look at the New Year as a time of reflection. A time to reevaluate what is working in our daily lives and what needs a facelift.  Yet, in all the Holiday hustle and bustle, we forget to reevaluate one important thing…our budget.

After the Holidays, many are left with mounds of credit card debt and are left thinking, “Now what?” Where are the funds to cover the debt. or pay bills?

Moving forward, it is best to enter the New Year with a fresh outlook on your budget, among all the other resolutions that come to mind. Furthermore, you are reading this post, so you are making a step in the right direction.

As you plan out your resolutions, keep your budget as a top priority! Staying within your budget in 2021 will help everything else fall into place like a key into a lock. With a few simple budget calculations, this will be a great year for all of us, my friends!

Rock Your Simple Budget 2021

If you are new to budgeting and need to start a budget plan this year, this post is for you.  In my post, I will detail a simple and easy monthly budget plan and add tips on how to get real with your budget.  I will also provide a sample budget to get you started.

***This site contains affiliate links. If you click a link, I will make a small commission at no cost to you, so thank you. 

Why Start an Easy Budget This Year?

I am wishing everyone the best in this New Year! I know 2021 has great things in store for all of us! Keeping to our budgets is one of them!  The top reasons to start budgeting are as follows:

  • keeping track of your money will reduce stress
  • keeping the peace in the family (one of the biggest fight couples have is over money)
  • help you save for an emergency fund (no more relying on credit cards)
  • be able to retire one day (some people want to work into their 70’s, but not me)
  • be able to make purchases without regret and guilt (Why did I buy that?)
  • paying bills on time (less late fees will save you money)
  • providing “needs” for your family (needs vs. wants)

It is never too late to start a budget and stick to it. This will give you more money in the future.

Save, save, save!  Keeping up with the Joneses is a thing of the past! Keep your money in your pocket and be happy with what you have.


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 Easy Budget Plan:

Get Your Free Budget Printable Here:

First, make a column of all your monthly expenses. Even if you are billed yearly (For example, I pay my car insurance in one lump sum to save money), divide this number by 12(months) and put it on your budget to ensure you have enough money to cover the cost when that bill comes in the mail.  This will include the following but may need adjusting if there are extra expenses not shown on my list i.e. (credit card debt, student loan debt, gym membership, etc.)

You can include sinking funds with your bank and set one up specifically for “car insurance” or “vacation money.” Your sinking fund will be whatever you are saving money for.

Expenses (This will be your first column): 

  • House Payment/Rent
  • Utilities
  • Car Payment or Transportation
  • Insurance (Car, house, health)
  • Groceries
  • Gas
  • Entertainment (Eating out, Shows, Magazines)
  • Savings
  • Retirement

Above are some basic budgeting categories.  If you have other expenses, write them in too. At one point, I owed $23,000 in student loans and was able to pay it off by adding it to my budget and paying more than the minimum. You can do this with student loan debt and/or credit card debt.

Side Note:  I do not recommend accumulating credit card debt, but if you already have credit card debt this a top priority because you are paying interest, and by only paying the minimum, it will take years to pay off your credit card debt.

Try cutting up your credit cards and only paying cash. Then pay more than the minimum and make sure to include this in your budget.

Budgeting With Your Income

Next, you need to look at how much you have coming in every month. For the purpose of this example, let’s use the number $2,800 per month. This is your take-home pay after taxes and any other deductions.

This should go at the top of your second column and now you can start subtracting what you owe each month and come up with a number you can work with, to start saving for your emergency fund and retirement. (ROTH IRA, 401k or 403B)


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Sample of a Simple Budget:

Here is a sample budget using the total $2,800 income per a month and estimated numbers for the categories (Amount paid will be under your bill. I listed it this way due to the spacing on mobile, but when you print your budget template it will be listed in columns.)

Expenses/Amount Paid

House Expenses/Rent

$800

Utilities

$200

Car Payment/transportation

$250

Insurance(Car, House, Health)

$400

Groceries

$400

Gas

$150

Entertainment(Eating Out, Shows, Magazines)

$100

Savings

$100

Retirement (ROTH IRA)

$200

Total Bills      

$2,600

Extra Money

$200

I Have My Simple Budget, Now What?

The money left over will go into an emergency fund until you have accumulated enough money to cover the cost of your salary for at least six months.  This fund can also be used to help with extra expenses such as needing a new roof or replacing your water heater that flooded. Yes, this happened to my family and we needed new carpet too!! Since we had an emergency fund in place we were able to cover the cost. However, you should note that when these instances happen, it is wise to then continue to contribute back to your emergency fund.

Keep in mind, bills should come first and extra expenses such as entertainment and savings adjusted in order to pay your needed expenses. For example, maybe you need an oil change this month. You should adjust your entertainment expenses accordingly and find some free things for your family to do.

New Year, New Simple Budget Conclusion:

After saving enough to cover six-nine months of your salary, you are free to do what you wish with your extra money.  If there is an item you desire, use your extra funds to save up for it.  Do not, I repeat, do not put your “want” on a credit card.

Cheers to you for taking the time to put your budget first this year!  Let’s leave our budget stress back in 2018 and move forward!

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