The Importance of Budgeting and Cash Flow

How Not Preparing & Monitoring A Solid Budget Can Sink You Quick

A budget is not only critical for your personal finances it is even more critical for your business. It took me years to get this right in my personal life so when it came to business it was the first thing I did. At the end of this article I will include a link to download a free cash flow tracker spreadsheet, which helped my family survive at a $2,000 a month deficit for 2 years. It enabled us to juggle our bills and income while I was starting my company, without losing everything.

When people think about budgeting, more often than not, it's a month to month thing.While this is perfectly fine, if you have more money coming in than going out, or you have a simple budget without much nuance. If, however, you are drowning in debt, or your business is in trouble financially, a month is way too much time for things to go horrible wrong. I recommend sitting down, once a week, and checking your numbers. When you download this tracker you should open your bank and credit card accounts and go at least three months back to see where your money was spent. Then also fill it out with your averages (or your projected averages) for the rest of the year. With this overview of where your money is going, it is much simpler to spot problem areas, and find a way to fix it, before you get hit with overdraft fees. 

I say this again, to underline the importance of it. The biggest key to making a budget work, is to have your eye on it regularly. Sit down with your cash-flow tracker sheet (or however you choose to keep track of your finances) once a week, and input all that weeks financial information. Inputting actual data helps you see how well you stack up against projected amounts. You will be able to see, very quickly, how your decisions affect your bottom line, and where you need to change a bill pay date, to ensure you have adequate cash flow to sustain your business, or personal finances.

Now for an exciting announcement! Rood Financial will begin hosting digital seminars very soon, the first one being scheduled right now. We will be teaching you how to use the Cash Flow Tool, and share how we have used it successfully ourselves. There are only space for 20 students, so if you are interested, touch base with me and we'll see if you're a good candidate.

Do yourself and your family a favor and download and use the Cash Flow Tool here: https://roodfinancial.us/materials