How to Create a Realistic Budget with These Credit Union Financial Tools

If you feel like you don't have enough cash to accomplish all your financial goals or if your income isn't sufficient to cover your expenses, it's time to create and follow a budget. A budget is an estimation of your income and expenses. With the right strategy and credit union financial tools, efficient budgeting is easier than you think.

Tips for Budgeting Effectively

Be Thorough with Your Budget

When you make your budget, be as thorough as possible. Your goal is to include every source of income and every possible expense. Don't forget irregular expenses, like holiday expenses, insurance premiums, and seasonal maintenance costs for your home and vehicle. Ideally, every dollar you make should have a purpose, be it debt paydown, bills, saving, or fun.

Want to make sure your budget is comprehensive? Check out our credit union financial tools that we offer through Banzai. Banzai has many helpful ltools to assist you with making a realistic budget that enables you to work toward your financial goals.

One of the credit union financial tools explores the envelope budgeting method. Many individuals new to budgeting find this helps them stick to their spending goals.

Track Your Spending

Once you know how you want to spend your money, it's essential to track your spending to make sure you're on track. You can manually enter your spending using a pen and paper or a spreadsheet. Or, you might prefer to automate the process using an app that connects to your bank account.

Our credit union financial tools will help you figure out which areas you can reduce your spending and understand how these reductions will improve your overall finances. One of our credit union financial tools is the Trim Your Budget Tool. This handy tool helps you set realistic goals for reducing your spending.

Make a Plan for Overspending

You're not a robot; it's expected you're going to deviate from your budget. However, it is important for you to have a plan for how you're going to handle these deviations. If you've spent too much eating out, you might account for this overspending by reducing how much you spend on entertainment. Our financial resources include a convenient tool to help you reduce your food bill.

Or, maybe your overspending is due to a change in your lifestyle, like a reduction in your work hours or extended illness. Use some of our tools to handle these changes, like the When Times Get Tough session.

Check Out Banzai for More Credit Union Financial Tools

Banzai is CCCU’s free money resource center. You'll receive valuable advice via these credit union financial tools and more. Contact us at 702-228-2228 to learn more.