Chapter 1: What is a Budget?

Learning to make a budget is the first step in any financial journey. Whether we like it or not, we are all part of a complex economic system. We live in it and interact with it every single day of our lives. In such an environment, if one wants to grow, it is crucial to understand how this system works and what are the best tools that one can use to navigate this system smoothly. One such tool is a budget planner.

There are a lot of budgeting tools and budget planners available on the internet. Some of these are complicated and could make budgeting seem difficult, but if one understands what a budget is and the essential components that a reasonable budget should cover, a pen and paper are all you would need to create an easy budget that works well.

What is a Budget?

A budget is a plan that you make for yourself regarding your spending habits. There can be many types of budgets, depending on your purpose behind creating one. You could make a monthly budget, weekly budget, or even a daily budget.

Budgets are not only limited to your day to day expenses. You could even make a wedding budget if you wish to plan your wedding expenses or an office event budget to figure out how much you would want to spend on various things like food, decoration, etc. If you have any occasion or period in which you have to pay a limited amount of money on multiple items and wish to plan how much to spend on what, you need a budget.

Budgeting helps you plan your expenditures and savings while also helping you to identify your spending patterns. Budgeting is a vital tool to keep your finances in order and achieve your short and long term goals.