Day: March 11, 2022

5 Simple Budgeting Methods to Help You Live Your Best Life

According to a 2020 survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, only 47% of Americans use budgeting tools to keep track of their spending. A budget, on the other hand, as the most basic instrument in the financial planning process, might make it easier to meet your financial objectives.

Not only does a budget help you keep track of where your money is going, but it also gives you more control over that process. Without a clear plan for your cash flow, you could be spending against your own best interests without even knowing it.

How a proper Budget can power your Financial Independence?

Budgeting isn’t always enjoyable, but it’s one of the most crucial steps you can do to better your financial situation. Here are a few examples of how living on a budget might help.

– It aligns your spending with your goals: You may decide how you’ll spend your money each month depending on what’s most important to you by setting and sticking to a budget.

– It can improve your debt repayment strategy: If you’re trying to pay off student loans, credit cards, or other types of debt, a budget might help you set aside more money so you can get out of debt.

– It can help you achieve your savings goals: A budget can help you figure out how much you’re going to save toward your goal at the beginning of the month, whether you want to save more for retirement, develop your emergency fund, or put money down for your next vacation.

5 Budgeting Methods to Consider

1. Zero- Based Budget
A zero-based budgeting strategy is straightforward: income minus expenses equals zero.

This budgeting strategy is best for persons who have a fixed monthly income or can at least anticipate their monthly income. Add your monthly spending and savings to equal your monthly income after you’ve calculated your monthly income.

It’s critical to budget for all of your spending as precisely as possible. If you go over budget in one category, you’ll have to make up the difference by taking money from another. And forgetting about a significant expense can throw your budget off.

A zero-based budget may be a better alternative for someone who has been budgeting for some time because there is less space for error. Even so, keeping additional cash in your bank account as a buffer is a wise idea. Also, keep a modest emergency money on hand in case you face a major unexpected bill.

2. Pay-yourself-first budget
Another simple budgeting strategy that focuses on savings and debt reduction is the pay-yourself-first budget.

Simply put, every time you are paid, you set away a particular amount for savings and debt payments, then spend the remainder of your money as you see fit. This allows you to prioritise your savings and debt payback goals while making do with the leftovers.

For instance, you might prioritise paying off high-interest debt first while gradually creating an emergency fund. However, once you’ve paid off your high-interest debt, you may concentrate on other savings goals.

Of course, prioritizing your necessary expenses and obligations is critical. However, because you’ve already taken care of what’s most essential to you, you don’t need to be concerned about where you spend your discretionary spending.
This budget is ideal for someone who has trouble saving each month or doesn’t want to spend too much time planning out each spending.

3. Envelope System Budget
This way of budgeting is similar to the zero-based budget, but there is one major difference: everything is done in cash. An envelope budgeting strategy is planning out how you’ll spend your money each month and using an envelope for each category of spending. Then, according to your budget, you withdraw as much cash as you need to fill each envelope.

Take your grocery envelope with you when you go grocery shopping, for example, and pay for your purchases with cash. If you run out, unless you choose to withdraw cash from other envelopes, that’s all you can spend in that area for the month. However, don’t raid other envelopes too frequently, as this might lead to a snowball effect, and you could run out of money before the end of the month.

The envelope system is endorsed by financial expert Dave Ramsey, so it’s a good alternative for folks who share his money ideals, which emphasize paying down debt rapidly and utilizing cash rather than credit cards.

However, it’s not a smart budgeting approach for someone who doesn’t like having a lot of cash on hand or prefers to use credit or debit cards.

4. 50/30/20 Budget
The 50/30/20 budgeting method is simple and requires less effort than the envelope and zero-based budgeting methods. The goal is to categorize your spending into three groups

  • Necessary expenses (50%)
  • Discretionary expenses (30%)
  • Savings and Debt Payments (20%)

    This budgeting strategy is ideal for rookie budgeters because it does not necessitate detailed spending tracking. You can stick to this budget as long as you understand what constitutes a want vs a need and allocate adequate funds to savings and debt repayment.

The biggest disadvantage is that the 50/30/20 rule may be impossible for people who have a lot of debt or want to save a lot of money because 20% isn’t a lot of money.

However, the good news is that you may tailor it to your own requirements. For example, you might wish to consider raising savings and debt repayments while minimising discretionary and necessary expenses.

To put it another way, don’t get too fixated on the 50/30/20 ratio. Make the concept fit your requirements.


5. The ‘no’ budget
This unique budgeting strategy is totally based on not spending money that you don’t have, as the name implies. Rather than making a budget, you should:

Keep an eye on the balance of your bank account. To keep track of your spending, use a budgeting app or your bank’s online banking or mobile app.

Keep track of when your recurring expenses are due. Keeping a list in a spreadsheet, Microsoft Word document, or on a piece of paper is one way to do this.

Set money aside for savings and additional debt repayments. Increase your automatic monthly debt payments and use automatic transfers from checking to savings wherever possible.

Spend the remainder of your funds without being overdrawn on your account. You’ll be better equipped to determine how much money is remaining after key costs if you keep an eye on your account balance.

While the “no” budget sounds easier than the other techniques we’ve discussed, telling oneself “no” isn’t always easy. This budgeting strategy works best if you’ve shown spending restraint in the past and are confident in your ability to do so again.

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Marketing Concepts

Today, there is a plan for everything, but before you can design one, you must first comprehend the fundamentals. For example, understanding marketing ideas is critical if you want to develop a great marketing plan. You can find out the best marketing approach for you by following the five fundamental marketing concepts. Simply put, execution is a critical element in marketing that occurs only after extensive study and strategizing.

What is Marketing?

The art and process of building, implementing, and maintaining an exchange connection is known as marketing. You start by acquiring clients, then create a relationship with them, and then keep it by meeting their demands. Customers or other businesses can be that customer; thus, marketing can be B2B or B2C depending on the situation. The fundamental goal of marketing, however, remains the same: to develop a relationship with clients and meet their needs by meeting their requirements.

Telecommunications, for example, develops a marketing plan that entices and persuades customers to utilize their phone, message, and internet bundles. When users start using, they are encouraged to rate their service by giving it a star rating.

What are the Marketing Concepts?

When a corporation prepares and implements strategies to increase profits by increasing sales, meeting consumer requirements, and outperforming competitors, it is referred to as marketing. The goal is to create a condition that benefits both the customer and the business.

The marketing concept is based on the idea of anticipating and satisfying customer requirements and wants better than competitors. Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith’s work, was the source of the marketing concepts. However, it remained unknown to the rest of the world until the twenty-first century.
To completely comprehend the marketing notion, we must first comprehend needs, desires, and demands.

  • Needs: Needs are unavoidable for life to survive; without them, various negative consequences can arise. Death would be the worst-case scenario. Food, shelter, self-development, security, social belonging, self-esteem, and respect are all examples of needs.
  • Wants – Wants are our desires and wishes in life are shaped by our social environment and culture.
  • Demand: Demands are created when our desires, needs, and wants are backed by our ability to pay.

5 Basic Marketing Concepts

1. The Production Concept
Customers will be more drawn to products that are easily available and can be acquired for cheaper than rival products of the same kind, according to the manufacturing principle. This concept arose from the rise of early capitalism in the 1950s, when businesses were focused on production efficiency to assure maximum profits and scalability.

This mindset can be beneficial when a company markets in a rapidly growing field, but it also comes with a danger. Businesses that are unduly focused on low-cost production might easily lose touch with client wants and, as a result, lose revenue, despite their low-cost and widely accessible goods.

2. The Product Concept
The product concept is the polar opposite of the production concept in that it assumes that customer buying habits are not influenced by availability or price, and that people value quality, innovation, and performance over low cost. As a result, this marketing approach emphasises product improvement and innovation on a regular basis.

Apple Inc. is a great example of how this principle works. Its target demographic anticipates the company’s new releases with bated breath. Many people will not compromise solely to save money, even if there are off-brand products that perform many of the same functions for a lower price. However, if a marketer relies solely on this idea, he or she may miss out on people who are also influenced by availability and pricing.

3. The Selling Concept
Marketing based on the selling concept focuses on getting the customer to the actual transaction without regard for the client’s wants or product quality – a costly technique. This approach generally overlooks customer satisfaction efforts and rarely results in repeat purchases.

Because a product or service isn’t a need, the selling notion is based on the belief that you must persuade a buyer to acquire it by aggressive promotion of its merits. Soda pop is an example. Have you ever wondered why, despite the brand’s popularity, you keep seeing advertisements for Coca-Cola? Everyone understands what Coke has to offer, but it’s also common knowledge that soda is devoid of nutrients and harmful to one’s health. Coca-Cola understands this, which is why they spend such large sums of money to promote their product.

4. The Marketing Concept
The marketing concept is based on a company’s capacity to compete and maximise revenues by promoting the ways in which it provides customers with higher value than its competitors. It all comes down to knowing your target market, sensing its wants, and efficiently providing those demands. This is referred described as the “customer-first strategy” by many.

Glossier is a well-known example of this type of marketing. The brand recognises that many women are dissatisfied with the way cosmetics affects their skin’s health. Women are also tired up with being instructed what makeup items to use, according to the researchers. With this in mind, Glossier launched a line of skincare and beauty products that not only hydrate the skin but also promote individualism and personal expression through the use of makeup.

5. The Societal Concept
The societal marketing concept is a new one that stresses societal well-being. It’s founded on the premise that, regardless of a company’s sales goals, marketers have a moral responsibility to sell ethically to promote what’s good for people over what people may want. Employees of a corporation live in the communities to which they market, and they should advertise in the best interests of their community.

The fast-food sector is an example of the type of problem that the societal notion seeks to solve. Fast food is in high demand in our society, but it is high in fat and sugar and adds to waste. Despite the fact that the industry is catering to modern consumer wishes, it is harming our health and undermining our society’s goal of environmental sustainability.