Tips for budgeting

  1. Save $1000
  2. Pay off all consumer debt
  3. Save 3-6 months of expenses
  4. Invest 15% in retirement
  5. Save for kids college
  6. Pay off mortgage early
  7. Give generously

These baby steps are what his tips and plan are based around. The baby steps 1-3 are done one at a time and steps 4-6 are done together if you can. Then once you are to baby step 7, you are able to give generously!

  1. MAKING A WRITTEN ZERO-BASED BUDGET

This is the first and most important step to ANY financial plan.

A written budget is the foundation for everything that you do with your money.

A budget will tell you what you and can’t afford. It will tell you exactly where and how to spend your money.

Now, when I am talking about a budget, I mean a zero-based budget.

This is slightly different than just writing down your income and expenses and spending what is leftover.

A zero-based budget means budgeting every single dollar. It takes a little more time but it is worth the effort.

Author: Dave Ramsey