DGETIN COMM NTS Q:BUDGETING IS COMMON CENTS

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WRITER: DAVE RAMSEY

A:Dear Dave, uestions suc hese y maintained a ed income and . here m nth —Ka

Questions such as these could be easily answered if you maintained a detailed budget of your income and expenses. Making a budget will help you see where you’re spending foolishly so you can adapt and achieve your financial goals. Moreover, your stress levels will decrease because you’ll no longer have to worry whether you have money to buy a brand-new car or take a dream vacation — you’ll already know.

My husband and I are following your plan, and we’re trying to reconcile our onpaper budget with what’s going on in our bank account. Most of our bills are due the first half of the month, but we receive most of our income the second half of the month. Can you help us?

Dear Kathy, a h ud ou of om he av usband and I a ng nd we’re get goi ount. bi o elp ourron- il reconcile our ing o e ive e rece he o

—Kathy

If you’re actually making a budget and sticking to it, what you’re describing is a cash-flow bind. You are in charge of your budget until it’s on paper. Once it’s on paper, it has to accurately represent reality. In your reality, that means a cash-flow strain on the first checks and extra money on the second checks.

RITER AVE udg ibing e st ar Kathy actual nd cash-flow bind. You a our on pape repres train hat means a cash-flow st he e o . m solution. rsecond

I e e s the 15th to the 15th instead of from the 1st to the 1st. It will help you stay ahead and avoid getting pinched. pinche

You won’t be able to fix this in just one month, but there is a long-term solution. Move some of the money from your second checks into the first half of the next month. By doing this, you’ll start running from

SOURCE: personalfinance.duke.edu/manage-your-finances/budget/overview

The second part of this equation is that you are in charge of your budget. The budget does not become the boss of you until you get it done. When everything is written and agreed upon by you and your husband, that’s when the budget becomes the boss. You can’t come home with a new shirt or a new purse and hope it fits into the plan. The budget has to be the plumb line by which you build your finances straight and true.

—Dave

More than 85 percent of children ages 8-14 have piggy banks, according to a new survey from T. Rowe Price. Unfortunately, money going into their piggy banks is coming out very fast. More than 40 percent of parents who give their kids allowance say it's gone by the time the next allowance payday comes around.