Guys I am so excited for todays post! It is coming a little late and we are well into the New Year but, it is never too late to set a budget plan right?! 

I don’t know about you guys, but I am so bad at saving! I love spending my money (I mean what girl doesn’t) But this year I really need to whip myself into shape because I’m not getting any younger and it’s time to be an adult (insert an “Adulting is Hard” Meme here) 

Earlier in the year, I met with a friend who is really good with his finances and he helped me come up with a budget plan that I want to pass onto you, because I know I really benefited from it and I want the same for you! #NewYearNewYou So enough rambling, lets get on with the plan!





Warning: this post involves some math so prepare your brain!
*I am only using pretend numbers for my demonstrations, not my actual income*


Step 1: Since we are basing this budget plan on what we make and spend on a monthly basis you will want to open up your bank account or look at an old check to see what you are making each month (if you don’t already know).

Once you have the amount that you make monthly, you want to write it down and label it on your piece of paper. 
Step 2: You want to make a list of the necessities that you spend your money on. For example: Groceries, Phone Bill, Insurance, Car Payment, Toiletries (makeup essentials for us girls, but try to leave anything other than essentials for your “wants” list), Gas, Gym Membership. 

Then you want to write the amount that you spend in those areas each month. When I was doing it with my friend, it wasn’t the exact number because honestly, it’s different every month but just try to make a good guess that is close to the actual amount. 

Example: For gas I normally spend around $80 a month. I spend around $36 a month so I just round up.

Step 3: Once you have written the amount that you spend on your necessities each month, it’s time for your wants (this is where you have to be really honest with yourself.) So, do the same thing that we did in Step 2 for Step 3. 

Example: Makeup (more than your essentials, like an extra lipgloss or another nail polish even though you have a million at home), Clothes (one piece of clothing at $40 a week?!), Coffee, Lunch, Going Out Money. 

Step 4: Now that you see how much you are making a month compared to how much you are spending on needs and wants, it’s time to go back through and see where you can shave off the amount that you spend (this will mostly be in your wants section so be prepared to have your heart ripped out of your chest a little bit.)

So for example in my “Wants” section, if I am buying one or two pieces a week from Target or Forever 21 that are around $24 each, then I am spending around $144 a month on clothes. We can probably shave that number down a bit!

So, let's look at our "Wants" list. Mine may look like this, yours may look a little different, if you're anything like me, you spend most of your money on food and coffee...typical girl right? 

Makeup - $60 a month
Clothes - $144 a month
Coffee - $120 a month
 (1 coffee a day)
Lunch - $60 a month
Going out - $80 a month


Ask yourself where you can save a little extra money.

Let’s say we only buy one new makeup product every 2 weeks instead of every week or only buy one new piece of clothing every month or every two weeks, save money where we can.

So now my "Wants" list looks like this: 

Makeup - $30 a month
Clothes - $50 a month
Coffee - $60 a month 
(make coffee at home in the morning)
Lunch - $40 a month
Going Out - $40 a month 

Now we have an extra $244 a month!! 

Writing everything out makes you aware of how much you spend on silly things.


Step 5: So now we want to add how much we are spending on our needs and our wants and subtract that number from how much we are making a month.

Example: 

Needs by Month
Insurance: $100
Gas: $80
Phone Bill: $75
Gym Membership $10

Total: $265


Wants by Month
Makeup: $30
Clothes: $50
Coffee: $60
Lunch: $40
Going Out: $40

Total: $220

Total Amount Spent From Both Sections: $485




Let’s say you are making around $1,000 a month, subtract the Total Amount Spent from what you are making.


$1,000 - $485 = $515





So now you are left with $515 to put into savings or to spend at the end of each month and trust me, you will want to put it into savings (let's be honest you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't want to save, so listen to me and save this money.) 

If you want to, you can divide this number by 4 and put 3/4 of this money into savings and put the rest into your checking incase you need a little extra to spend each month but, don’t spend it if you don't have to! It is there for emergency situations only!



If you are like me and you easily get into your bank account and switch money from savings into checking’s, then you will want to take the amount you are supposed to save out of the bank and put the cash into envelopes somewhere safe (so maybe in a safe in your house, or have your parents hold onto it for you so you can't dip into that money and spend it.)


And if you are a quick card swiper, like I am, you may want to consider taking your “Wants” money out and keep the cash in your wallet because you are always more aware of your money when you have to actually touch it and hand it over rather than just swiping a card.  


When I finished my budget plan, I wanted to make it look really nice and neat so that I could put it up in my room and also so it was easier to follow.


This is the imaginary one I made with the example prices I used above:


So now for the most exciting part, I made one of these for you so that you can print this out and fill in the blanks and have your own budget plan. 
Free Budget Printable
For those of you who would like something a little more edgy, here is this one...



Click Here For Your Free Printable (Floral)

 Click Here For Your Free Printable (Geometric)
If you guys end up using this printable and post it, make sure to tag me and use the hashtag #samantharueblog so I can see all of your awesome photos!! 
Are you really good at saving? Share some of your tips here, we would all love to know!