CBB

Completing the following monthly budget will help you begin to understand how much money you have to spend and how to prioritize your spending.  Prior to beginning, we suggest that you thoroughly review your finances and related documentation:

1. To accurately determine your average monthly income, gather up several recent pay stubs, pension statements, investment income receipts, child tax benefit receipts, EI slips, estimated annual or periodic bonuses, your spouse’s income particulars and bank statements etc.
2. For your fixed expenses, review several month’s bills, credit card statements and bank statements in order to be able to accurately estimate monthly expenses for mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities, insurance payments, car payments, car repairs, health care premiums, alimony \ support payments, college tuition and loan payments.
3. For your variable expenses, for which you probably do not keep receipts, such as food, clothing, lunches, hobbies, alcohol, cigarettes, children’s activities, gasoline purchases etc. do your best to estimate what you typically spend each week and month.

Prior to beginning to complete the budget, speak to your spouse or partner in order to get their input on how the money in the home is spent. You may also want to consider discussing it, or parts of it, with your teenage children to get their input and buy in.

If, upon completion of the budget, your expenses exceed your income, begin to review your expenditures for items that can be reduced or eliminated. For example:

1. Reducing impulse purchasing.
2. Reducing entertainment expenses.
3. Reducing smoking or alcohol consumption.
4. Taking your lunch to work three or four days a week.
5. Planning to take a less expensive vacation.
6. Selling the second car and bussing to work.
7. Extending the amortization period of your mortgage to reduce mortgage payments.
8. Reduce \ eliminate savings and apply the funds against high interest credit card debt balances until the debts are paid in full.
9. Downsizing your house to a smaller and less expensive one.

If you are unable to reduce your expenses to comfortably pay your monthly expenses and debt payments, you may be insolvent.  Get the MONTHLY INCOME AND EXPENSE WORKSHEET