Financial Literacy: Budgeting

Budgeting means figuring out how to handle your money. We all need money to pay for things like rent, groceries, and fixing our cars. Budgeting helps us have enough money for all these things. Here are some tips to help you budget:

• Keep track of how much money you make. Write it down in a notebook. Some weeks you might make $400, and other weeks you might make $200 or $500.
• Write down all the things you have to spend money on. This includes rent, food, gas for your car, electricity, water, and other things like clothes and snacks.
• Think about what you need versus what you want. Things like rent are needs because you have to pay for them. Snacks and drinks are wants because you can live without them.
• Decide how much you're willing to spend on each thing you need to pay for.
• Add up all the money you spend and compare it to how much you make. If you spend more than you make, you have a problem. Look at your expenses again. Can you spend less on wants? Are all the needs really needs? Can you find ways to use less gas or buy cheaper clothes?
• Put some money aside for emergencies. Sometimes unexpected things happen, like your car breaking down or getting sick and missing work. It's good to have some extra money saved up for these situations.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help if you're having trouble. Sometimes someone else might have a good idea to help you out.