To achieve financial empowerment, you should be spending less than you earn. Following this guidance is often difficult for many people, especially those who are unemployed or who don't earn a lot. Tracking your income and expenses and putting together a simple budget is a good first step towards spending less than you earn.
Want to work with someone in person to learn how to create a budget?
Search our calendar of classes and register for our "Money Matters: How to Create and Maintain a Spending Plan" workshop. This workshop will show you how to manage your money by preparing a personal spending plan and identifying ways to decrease spending and increase income. By the end of the workshop you will be able to list steps for setting financial goals, prepare a spending plan to estimate monthly income and expenses, and identify ways to decrease spending and increase income!
You can also sign up for one-on-one sessions with a trained budget coach through the Smart About Money (SAM) program at United Way of Greater New Haven: 370 James St, Suite 403, New Haven, 203-772-2010, http://www.uwgnh.org/sam.
Want to get started on your own?
Start filling out this basic online Budgeting Sheet to create your own budget.
Or use a simple notebook and pen to start writing down all of your expenses - then you can plug them into your official budget.