{"product_id":"2940013945951","title":"How to Setup a Family Budget","description":"\"Modern man drives a mortgaged car over a bond-financed highway on credit-card gas.\"\u003cbr\u003eEarl Wilson\u003cbr\u003e3\u003cbr\u003eINTRODUCTION\u003cbr\u003e\"The average family exists only on paper and its average budget is a fiction, invented by\u003cbr\u003estatisticians for the convenience of statisticians.\"\u003cbr\u003eSylvia Porter\u003cbr\u003eUnlike the quote provided above, seemingly reflective of general opinion on family budgets\u003cbr\u003etoday, we will attempt to take a much more positive approach to budgeting, as a family\u003cbr\u003eoriented, user-friendly, financial management and planning tool and life-enabler.\u003cbr\u003eHowever, when reflecting on family budgeting and inquiring as to why not more families are\u003cbr\u003eactually using it, it becomes self-evident that similar skepticism runs rampant and deep in reality\u003cbr\u003eand society, even globally so.\u003cbr\u003eOnce you start probing family budgets, expending time and energy researching the subject indepth,\u003cbr\u003eit becomes quite clear, that most families are caught in a vicious, almost never-ending\u003cbr\u003ecycle of “What comes in must go out.”\u003cbr\u003eMost families might feel that budgeting is a futile effort, unnecessarily burdening them with\u003cbr\u003ethoughts and ways, to go broke methodically and slowly, without the creature comforts and\u003cbr\u003eindulgences of our human modern-day society.\u003cbr\u003eOthers might voice that they feel as if they are merely throwing money away, in a never-ending\u003cbr\u003eand dizzying spiral of spend, spend, spend. People are getting deeper and deeper into debt, no\u003cbr\u003ematter how hard they try to get out of it. Questions are then raised : How do we stop these\u003cbr\u003ecourses of action? How do we change the thinking around family fiscal discipline?\u003cbr\u003ePut simply, in “How to set up a Family Budget”, we focus in on how to empower families to set\u003cbr\u003eup better, more realistic budgets, stick to them and celebrate their successes (and learn from their\u003cbr\u003efailures!)\u003cbr\u003eFamilies eventually do have a monthly surplus, see their savings start to grow, consolidate their\u003cbr\u003edebt, set aside discretionary funds and personal allowances, build their wealth and become more\u003cbr\u003e4\u003cbr\u003eaware of their pro-active involvement and responsibility regarding their lives and finances. This\u003cbr\u003eis when excitement builds and fundamental thought patters as well as spending attitudes are\u003cbr\u003echanged.\u003cbr\u003eBudgeting is seen as an accurate measurement of success when significant behavioral\u003cbr\u003etransformation is taking place on the landscape of the family budget, spending habits and\u003cbr\u003efinancial patterns we observe over time!\u003cbr\u003eDo you ever feel that you do not have enough cash at the end of the month to pay bills, buy\u003cbr\u003enecessities of life? Are you barely making a dent in your credit card debt balance, no matter how\u003cbr\u003ehard you try?\u003cbr\u003eHere is a reality check for all of us: if we choose to spend it, it is gone for good. We cannot\u003cbr\u003espend it on anything else. Are you perhaps worried about a nest egg for your golden years or\u003cbr\u003esavings for early retirement? Then you have arrived at a source that can provide some prudent\u003cbr\u003etips on how to start, finish, implement, stick to, revise and refine a family budget.\u003cbr\u003eThe family budget is a dynamic process, even more so than a mere static work-product, result,\u003cbr\u003eprocess-outcome or document. It will, can and should change over time. It becomes a barometer\u003cbr\u003eof a family’s fiscal circumstance, resources and health.\u003cbr\u003eMaybe budgeting is not as much about reflecting on what you cannot have, but more about\u003cbr\u003ethoughts on how to stretch, invest and spend your earned dollars more wisely. In short, it is about\u003cbr\u003emaking your money going further.\u003cbr\u003eThis quick-reference how-to guide was developed to assist you with setting up your own\u003cbr\u003epersonal, household and family budget, to help you with all of the above and more!\u003cbr\u003eA couple of general money-savings will also be provided in these pages. There are also thoughts\u003cbr\u003eand spending patterns that need to change, in order to become fiscally more disciplined and\u003cbr\u003emany techniques, attitudes, habitual behaviors that we need to un-earth, evaluate and possibly\u003cbr\u003echange, before you even start budgeting.\u003cbr\u003e5\u003cbr\u003eFor example, being a bargain hunter looking for good buys, cutting down on careless spending,\u003cbr\u003ebeing on the lookout for careless credit card spending and letting the person who handles money\u003cbr\u003ebest in your household actually take care of it, are all good examples of what we mean.\u003cbr\u003eFor most households, a budget is no more than a spending plan. Any spending plan can help you\u003cbr\u003esee where your money is going. It fits your spending to your income. It reflects how we get the\u003cbr\u003ethings we want and need most, while being ready and prepared for bills we must pay every\u003cbr\u003emonth.\u003cbr\u003eFor most families it is simply about making a budget you can live with and stick to easily. It is\u003cbr\u003enot a difficult exercise, but one most people fear, avoid or dread because of the unknown and\u003cbr\u003eperceived complexity of it (...","brand":"99 \u0026cent; store, save a lot more","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47069104439536,"sku":"2940013945951","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013945951_p0.jpg?v=1763601898","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013945951","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}