Monthly Household Budget

Monthly Household Budget

Whether we like it or not money makes the world go around and it can make our lives quite complicated. If you do not have enough there is the stress and concern how you are going to pay for the things that re needed to live from day to day. If you have a great deal of money you may be bombarded with requests to loan or give money to friends and relatives. If you do not manage money well you may find that you do not have resources for future living expenses. Money management is a difficult thing for many people to master.
 
I do case management with people that have found themselves homeless at one point in their lives. I work with permanent supportive housing. A program that provides safe low-income housing for people to live in while they are getting they’re lives back on track. One of the things that is imperative for them to do is to establish a monthly household budget. When I first start working with people when they enter the program they tell me it is impossible for them to have a monthly household budget because they have no money to work with. In these cases I have them start with the basics. I have them budget their food stamps so that they will have enough food to last them through the month. We do this by looking at the ads that are in the paper for the grocery stores. We look through the cabinets and determine what foods they already have and what they could buy to supplement them to create nutritious meals for the children. Many of the families have made impulsive poor choices in the past, so having them develop a list for when they walk into a store is challenging. For some families I go along and help them stick to the list that we have developed. Teaching the moms and dads that bagged cereal is a better value and bulk hamburger is cheaper. Also teaching them to take advantage of canned vegetables that are on sale. By putting time and effort into having them concentrate on one small area of a budget is helpful to keep them on track when they do begin to have money coming in.

Related Articles

For a family that has not had a regular income it is a challenge to have them stick to a monthly household budget because they want so many things. I have found it very frustrating to see people spend money on things that are not necessities and then come asking for money for food or gas when the money runs out. The importance of putting aside even a few dollars for emergencies in a monthly household budget is another concept that is very difficult to teach. I have found that we have the most success if we pay all the expenses for the month, buy all the groceries for the month and buy a gas card that will last the month on the first day of the month. This way at least the basics are covered and the family begins to learn to take care of necessities first and then buy other items. With money becoming tighter and tighter,what with the credit crunch and everything,it is very important to budget and setting and keeping to a monthly household budget can save you a lot of hassle and stress.