Are you budget percentages out-of-whack? Do your expenses look something like this:
| Expenses | % |
| Credit cards | 44% |
| Housing | 28% |
| Food | 15% |
| Utilities | 15% |
| Transportation | 15% |
| Other | 10% |
| 127% |
When in fact they should look like this:
| Category | Recommended % |
| Tithe & Charitable Gifts | 10-15% |
| Savings | 5-10% |
| Housing | 25-35% |
| Utilities | 5-10% |
| Food | 5-15% |
| Transportation | 10-15% |
| Clothing | 2-7% |
| Medical/Health | 5-10% |
| Personal | 5-10% |
| Recreation | 5-10% |
| Debts | 5-10% |
If you’re percentages are out-of-whack, then you need to start adjusting them. If you cannot make your budget balance, then you either need to increase your income or decrease your expenses.
Balancing a budget means ending with zero after you subtract your expenses from your income. If you end up with a positive number, then you can use this extra money to pay down your debt faster or to increase your emergency savings. Conversely, if you end up with a negative number, then you need to decrease your expenses or increase your income. There simply is on other way to balance a budget.
