What is a family budget?This question sooner or later begins to interest any young family. And it is not surprising - the strange, almost mystical property of money to disappear into thin air, to seep through your fingers like sand, is known to everyone. And if you believe the statistics, financial disputes in the family become the most frequent reason for divorce. Couples spend more than 70% of their life together discussing the family budget, unfortunately, not always peacefully. Moreover, the level of income of the married couple does not matter. You can earn millions or belong to the category of the population that is usually called "a family with an average income" - the despicable monetary substance becomes a reason for quarrels and disputes regardless of this. But you should not attribute some mystical properties to money - in the end, it is not they who earn you, but you who earn them. The whole point is that you spend it incorrectly and do not fully understand what a family budget is.
Family Budget Model
At the very beginning of a family relationship, it is rare that anyonethinks about such seemingly “insignificant” things as forming a family budget, running a joint household and other household issues. And, as the classic said? – the family boat crashes into everyday life. Because each of the couple has their own idea of how to spend money correctly, what family needs are primary and which are secondary. And these views were most likely formed on the basis of how such issues were resolved in your parents' families. But fundamental financial issues not only need to be resolved, but it is very important to resolve them at the very beginning of family relationships. You may ask – what is there to resolve, the choice is limited? But it is not that simple. First of all, it is worth discussing several issues of forming your family budget:
- Joint or separate budget?
- Who will be responsible for financial control?
The joint budget that we received “ininheritance” from parents (simply because it is accepted), is not very well suited to modern life. Agree, if one of the spouses is forced to ask the other for money for personal expenses, sooner or later this may lead to discontent, and therefore to a conflict. So wouldn’t it be more reasonable to adopt a different model of forming a family budget, thereby avoiding unnecessary disputes? No one is talking about each family member running around with a calculator and calculating how many kilowatt-hours they spent or how many cubic meters of water, gas, were spent on cooking, laundry and washing dishes. Not at all. Everything can be done much more simply. On payday, each family member gives 50% of their salary for housekeeping. Regardless of how much they earn. The remaining amount can be spent on their own needs, hobbies. Then it is unlikely that such awkward moments will arise when one of the spouses is forced to ask for money for “hairpins”. But do not forget that with a separate or partially separate budget, you should forget about showing participation, mutual support and gifts to each other, as an obligation. Which, however, will not prevent you from making mutually pleasant surprises. But that is another topic. With such a budget, you will have funds left to live a normal life, without denying yourself and without limiting your needs.
Who should manage the family budget?
Another question that raises questionslong-running debates: in whose hands should the family budget be concentrated? Men will answer this question unequivocally. Finances can only be trusted to a man. It is not for nothing that all ministers of economy are representatives of the strong half of humanity. But let's consider this issue in more detail. Let's not question the practicality of men, their ability to manage money. By the way, men really show themselves much better, finding additional sources of income. They invest money more profitably in securities and at interest in the bank. By the way, men plan large purchases, for example, cars or land, meticulously considering all possible options. And, in the end, they choose the most optimal one. But you should not fall under the stereotypical opinion that all women are spendthrifts. Women, despite the prevailing opinion, are masters at saving. Moreover, on everything. Starting from saving on food and ending with fashionable clothes. And you can definitely not deny women the ability to make profitable purchases. For each family, the decision on who will be in charge of the finances should be individual. And it should not be based on the phrase: “I said so!” or “I’m a woman, which means I know better what the family needs,” but on a constructive dialogue. Try to conduct an experiment. Not a competition, please keep that in mind. You need to identify who will be in charge of the family cash box, not prove that you were right. Let the burden of managing and distributing money fall on strong male shoulders one month, and on fragile, but no less reliable female shoulders the next. It may turn out that, contrary to all stereotypes, a woman will be more economical. Then you can safely give her the opportunity to form and manage the family budget. By the way, this will be a good opportunity to test how well you can negotiate with each other. And remember that no matter who takes on this responsibility, the help of all family members will not be superfluous.
Planning - the path to financial prosperity
Once you have decided what type of budgeting you want to do,семьи вам подходит и кто именно будет им управлять, а, следовательно, и отвечать за расходование денежных средств, давайте поговорим о планировании. Стоит отдельно упомянуть, что планировать семейный бюджет лучше всего совместно. Такое обсуждение поможет учесть нужды всех членов семьи. Не ущемляя никого и выслушав все мнения, вы, возможно, найдете способ на чем-то сэкономить. К тому же, реальное финансовое положение вашей семьи должно быть «прозрачным», чтобы каждый имел представление о реальном положении дел. И формировал свои запросы, исходя именно из этого, а не основываясь только на собственных желаниях. Поверьте, если ваши близкие будут знать, как обстоят дела с финансами, они легче пойдут вам навстречу, если вы попросите их быть более экономными в расходах. В итоге семейный бюджет выиграет от этого. Чтобы не рассматривать свой кошелек в поисках завалявшейся купюры или наоборот, не думать о том, что до конца месяца три дня, а денег остается еще много, вспомните о старом правиле: контролировать нужно не только расходы, но и доходы семьи. Или хотя бы приблизительно знать, но лучше все же располагать точными цифрами, из чего будет складываться бюджет семьи. Начните записывать ожидаемую прибыль. Что в нее входит? Заработная плата всех членов семьи, включая авансы, премии и дополнительные заработки. Если у вас имеются ценные бумаги или счета, с которых вы получаете прибыль, то и эти деньги обязательно должны быть включены в статью доходов. Лучше всего завести специальный файл в компьютере в формате электронной таблицы Exel (это самое простое и позволяет легко делать необходимые расчеты), куда вы будете каждый месяц вносить список ваших доходов. А вот теперь, имея на руках конкретные цифры, можно приступать к планированию ежемесячных и разовых расходов. Планирование бюджета семьи необходимо начать с учета постоянных ежемесячных расходов. Квартплата, выплата по кредиту или ипотеке, расходы на мобильную связь, оплата детского сада, школы, лекарства, продукты питания и средства личной гигиены. Все это легко подсчитать, чтобы знать наверняка, какую сумму вы должны будете потратить, потому что эти расходы – обязательные. Некоторые экономисты советуют учитывать расходы на продукты длительного хранения, которые можно купить впрок, отдельно от скоропортящихся. Поэтому перед началом всех этих подсчетов снимите остаток таких продуктов, как сахар, мука, чай, соль, и рассчитайте точно, сколько вам необходимо докупить на следующий месяц. То же самое относится и к средствам личной гигиены и бытовой химии: мыло, шампунь, зубная паста, стиральные порошки, средства для уборки и мытья посуды и так далее. Возможно, особенно если вы обсуждаете бюджет совместно с членами семьи, вы найдете новые способы экономии. Несомненным является тот факт, что мы предполагаем, а обстоятельства складываются так, как складываются, а потому в статье расходов обязательно должен присутствовать так называемый пункт на непредвиденные расходы. Пусть лучше эта сумма или её часть автоматически «передвинется» на следующий месяц, чем вы будете вынуждены при необходимости и в срочном порядке пересматривать все статьи расходов, или, хуже того, влезать в долги, чтобы ваш бюджет не начал «трещать по швам». 
Large expenditures
After you have counted all the possible andmandatory expenses, you can think about major purchases. Each thing in the house has its own service life, and the development of technology today is moving forward by leaps and bounds. And you want a more modern computer, a more economical refrigerator, a wider window to the world (TV screen), a mobile phone with a wide range of functions. But how to fit all this into a family budget that is far from elastic? Very simple. It is best to save money for major purchases gradually. This is also one of the ways to plan a budget. It is better to save up for a new car than to take out another loan and, instead of spending the money on your family, take the money to the bank as interest. Not only is this unreasonable, but it is also offensive. You borrow someone else's money and for a while, but you have to pay back your own and forever. There is, however, another view on buying things on credit. If the thing is needed today, and not in a year, when you manage to save up the necessary amount - of course, you need to plan and buy it today. Then, when planning your budget, take into account the costs of paying interest to the bank for using the loan. Perhaps you will be consoled by the thought that while you are saving money, inflation still manages to “eat” some of it, so paying interest on a loan does not look so terrible. And also, when planning to buy new household appliances, think about where you are going to put the old ones? Send them to a landfill or a closet? But this is unreasonable! It is much better to sell the thing you do not need. You can sell it through all sorts of Internet portals specially designed for this. In this way, you will not only not turn your closet into a junk dealer’s warehouse, but also get money from something that is no longer useful to you, but can be used by someone else. The same applies to vacations. It is best to plan your vacation and not invest all your available funds at once, but gradually save money for your vacation. How to manage a family budget, how to plan it, who to entrust the management - it is, of course, up to you to decide. But try to make sure that no matter how much you earn, you have enough money, and that solving everyday and financial issues does not become the stumbling block that your family will break up on. Money can be earned, but the only capital that cannot be replaced by anything is love, respect and family. We recommend reading:
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