{"id":4724,"date":"2019-09-26T12:11:08","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T16:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/?p=4724"},"modified":"2023-01-02T21:36:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T02:36:32","slug":"creating-a-family-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/creating-a-family-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Making A Family Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This guest post is courtesy of AgSouth Farm Credit.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Creating a family budget you can stick to is challenging for most people. If you\u2019re in agriculture, varying income can make the process even more daunting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no reason to be afraid, though. Budgeting is just a tool that can help you,\u201d said Will Peeler, a Regional Business Development Manager for AgSouth Farm Credit, who works out of the Spartanburg, S.C., office.<\/p>\n<p>With the right tools, any family can create a realistic budget. And sticking to it comes with a range of benefits \u2013 from reducing wasteful spending to having money to do the things you enjoy. The first step is to simply, start budgeting.<\/p>\n<p>Peeler\u2019s top tips for family budget planning include:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Keep it simple.<\/strong>\u00a0Make it a budget that you can work with. If it becomes too complex and you\u2019re measuring everything down to the penny, it will become so frustrating and overwhelming that you\u2019ll most likely give up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Be honest with yourself.<\/strong>\u00a0It can be hard to face reality when it comes to budgeting. But if you look at a true picture of your budget, it will be easier to track and monitor. You can set realistic goals, and you\u2019ll be much more likely to improve your current situation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Look back to move forward.<\/strong>\u00a0When building your budget, take a look at at least six months\u2019 worth of income and expenses. Gather bank statements, credit card statements, and any other documents that will show what a typical month looks like. This will help you more accurately project what a typical year will look like going forward. For ag operations, you might need to look at several years\u2019 worth of statements to establish a trend.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Consider your cash flows.<\/strong>\u00a0With a true ag operation, you\u2019re not getting paid a set salary on a regular basis. Think about how often you get paid and how much of a line of credit you need in between. Knowing your cash flow can help <a href=\"https:\/\/www.agsouthfc.com\/\">your lender<\/a> match you with the perfect loan product for your situation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Look for wiggle room.<\/strong>\u00a0You have expenses that you have to pay every month \u2013 mortgage, debt, utility payments. Then, there are the discretionary categories where you can really make a difference \u2013 eating out, cable TV, paying for a car that is not often used. You can make little lifestyle changes that aren\u2019t too drastic but can add up over the long term.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Separate business and personal expenses.<\/strong>\u00a0You probably have more control over household expenses than business expenses. Keeping two sets of books, showing which expenses are for the <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/propsearch.php?memberid=&amp;session=&amp;savedids=%2C&amp;unsavedids=&amp;savenow=&amp;save_listingid=&amp;viewall=&amp;offset=&amp;sort=startdate+DESC%2Cpublicview+DESC&amp;agentid=&amp;hideclose=&amp;disclosureaccept=&amp;listingscount=499&amp;soldscount=0&amp;listingsvisiblecount=499&amp;soldsvisiblecount=0&amp;listingtypes%5B%5D=availabletoggle&amp;listingtypes%5B%5D=pendingtoggle&amp;listingtypes%5B%5D=auctiontoggle&amp;listingtypes%5B%5D=closematchtoggle&amp;quicktext=&amp;state=All&amp;parcelLow=&amp;parcelHigh=&amp;priceLow=&amp;priceHigh=&amp;proptypes%5B%5D=farmland&amp;searchbutton=Search\">farm<\/a> and which are for the household, will help you more easily track your budget.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Track your budget regularly.<\/strong>\u00a0Track your budget at least on a monthly basis. Or consider reconciling the books weekly, maybe Sunday evening before the week starts. If you wait to do it at the end of the year, there is less room to make informed adjustments as you go.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Consider using a third party.<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019re tracking with a spouse or business partner and can\u2019t agree on some sticking points, consider a third party who can offer practical answers and unbiased opinions. That could be a financial planner, accountant or relationship lender \u2013 anyone who can sit down with you and help you think through important decisions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do what works for you.<\/strong>\u00a0There are a range of methods for tracking your budget, from free online templates to pen and paper to an app linking a budget tracker with your credit cards and checking account. No one system works for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>Budgeting doesn\u2019t have to be complicated. It just has to work for you. Try different methods until you find the right one that works for your family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it doesn\u2019t go as planned, don\u2019t give up. If you fail one month, that\u2019s okay,\u201d Peeler said. \u201cHave some flexibility and stick with it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This guest post is courtesy of AgSouth Farm Credit. Creating a family budget you can stick to is challenging for most people. If you\u2019re in agriculture, varying income can make the process even more daunting. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to be afraid, though. Budgeting is just a tool that can help you,\u201d said Will Peeler, a &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/creating-a-family-budget\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Making A Family Budget&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":4727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.7.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Making A Family Budget - National Land Realty News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Creating a family budget you can stick to is challenging for most people. 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If you\u2019re in agriculture, varying income can make the process even more daunting.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/creating-a-family-budget\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"National Land Realty News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nationallandrealty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-26T16:11:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-03T02:36:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/FamilyBudget_header-e1628780543688.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1240\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"AgSouth Farm Credit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ThisIsYourLand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThisIsYourLand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"AgSouth Farm Credit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/creating-a-family-budget\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/creating-a-family-budget\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"AgSouth Farm Credit\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5c6781f06e6a1c555cedd306afa538ab\"},\"headline\":\"Making A Family Budget\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-26T16:11:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-03T02:36:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/creating-a-family-budget\/\"},\"wordCount\":666,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Owning Land\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/creating-a-family-budget\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/creating-a-family-budget\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/creating-a-family-budget\/\",\"name\":\"Making A Family Budget - National Land Realty News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalland.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-26T16:11:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-03T02:36:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"Creating a family budget you can stick to is challenging for most people. 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