--- title: Budgeting Basics description: Figuring out how you will organize your finances, and to what degree you will have combined accounts, set the groundwork for the main tool of money management—a budget. image: https://blog.mctcu.org/hubfs/budgeting-spot-2.jpg --- - [Personal](https://www.mctcu.org/?hsCacheBuster=4955) - [Personal Checking](https://www.mctcu.org/personal/personal-checking) - [Compare Our Accounts](https://www.mctcu.org/personal/personal-checking/compare-accounts.html) - [Free Kasasa Cash Checking](https://www.mctcu.org/personal/personal-checking/free-kasasa-cash-checking.html) - [Free Kasasa Cash Back Checking](https://www.mctcu.org/personal/personal-checking/free-kasasa-cash-back-checking.html) - [Free Kasasa Eats Checking](https://www.mctcu.org/personal/personal-checking/free-kasasa-eats-checking.html) - [Free Kasasa Play Checking](https://www.mctcu.org/personal/personal-checking/free-kasasa-play-checking.html) - [InControl Checking](https://www.mctcu.org/personal/personal-checking/incontrol-checking.html) - 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Search - [Routing Number](https://www.mctcu.org/services-and-resources/resources/routing-number.html) - [Rates](https://www.mctcu.org/services-and-resources/resources/rates.html) - [Lost or Stolen Card](https://www.mctcu.org/services-and-resources/resources/lost-or-stolen-card.html) - [Locations](https://www.mctcu.org/about-us/locations-hours.html) ![Budgeting Basics](https://blog.mctcu.org/hubfs/budgeting-spot-2.jpg) - [Home](https://blog.mctcu.org/) - [MCTCU Blog](https://blog.mctcu.org) - Budgeting Basics [Davey Langham](https://blog.mctcu.org/author/davey-langham) 04/29/2021 [Saving](https://blog.mctcu.org/tag/saving) [2 Comments](https://blog.mctcu.org/budgeting-basics#postComment) 1 Minutes A practical, workable budget is one of the most crucial tools in your financial wellness arsenal. ## Starting Points Your budget is your blueprint for keeping cash flow positive, and for sticking to your saving goals. If you have a partner, it's essential to have one overall household budget. That big picture is indispensable for having a good sense, based on actual numbers, of where the two of you stand financially, and how you plan to stay on track throughout the year. Whether or not you have a partner, start your budget by listing all your anticipated monthly expenses. It can be helpful to divide them by how frequently they occur. [Click here to start budgeting](https://www.mctcu.org/services-resources/digital-banking/budgeting-tool.html) ## ![budgeting-spot-2](https://blog.mctcu.org/hs-fs/hubfs/budgeting-spot-2.jpg?width=1921&name=budgeting-spot-2.jpg) ## Fixed v. Variable For the fixed expenses, such as rent or phone, it's easy to fill in the exact amount you know you'll have to spend. On the other hand, with the variable expenses, like groceries, there is no single amount you'll spend each month. But based on what you've spent in the past, you should be able to estimate a fairly accurate number for most weeks. The next step is to compare your income to your expenses. In order to achieve (and maintain) a positive cash flow, you may have to adjust some of the variable expenses—which probably means cutting back or cutting some of them out altogether. You should revisit your budget on a regular basis. Remember, it's there to help you, and it's not written in stone. Adjusting it if your overall household income changes is important. ## Spread the Wealth If your budget changes because you get an influx of cash, maybe from a bonus or an inheritance, you may be tempted to use it to cover increased variable expenses, like eating out, travel, or the newest phone. Certainly using some of the money that way is fine. But it's also a great opportunity to pay down debt or to increase what you're putting away in savings—either in an emergency fund, a retirement plan, or your investment portfolio. [Click here to learn about emergency funds.](https://blog.mctcu.org/teaching-children-how-to-save-0-0-0-0) ## MCT is here to help! To find out how MCT can help you with budgeting, visit our [website](https://www.mctcu.org/services-resources/digital-banking/budgeting-tool.html) to start your financial wellness journey!   [![Start Budgeting](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/8552703/e3e5c8ce-6a9e-4d31-968d-3f2fa7c3866c.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/8552703/e3e5c8ce-6a9e-4d31-968d-3f2fa7c3866c)                                    [![Contact Us](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/8552703/a388ae78-ec8e-4a57-8447-3a9bf070d28b.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/8552703/a388ae78-ec8e-4a57-8447-3a9bf070d28b)                     --- #### Tag: [Saving](https://blog.mctcu.org/tag/saving) #### Share: - [Follow us on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.mctcu.org/budgeting-basics) - [Follow us on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.mctcu.org/budgeting-basics&text=Budgeting%20Basics) - [Follow us on Linkedin](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.mctcu.org/budgeting-basics) - [Follow us on Pinterest](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://blog.mctcu.org/budgeting-basics&text=Budgeting%20Basicsdescription=A%20practical,%20workable%20budget%20is%20one%20of%20the%20most%20crucial%20tools%20in%20your%20financial%20wellness%20arsenal.&media=https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/8552703/budgeting-spot-2.jpg) --- #### [Repaying Student Loans Previous Post](https://blog.mctcu.org/repaying-student-loans) #### [What does moving cost? Next Post](https://blog.mctcu.org/what-does-moving-cost) --- ## Related Posts It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. [Emergency](https://blog.mctcu.org/tag/emergency), [Saving](https://blog.mctcu.org/tag/saving) [Davey Langham](https://blog.mctcu.org/author/davey-langham) 20 January, 2021 #### [Create an emergency fund](https://blog.mctcu.org/teaching-children-how-to-save-0-0-0-0) If this past year has taught us anything, it's how important it is to have an Emergency Fund. 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