You will need pen and paper, a text editor or Microsoft excel if you have it. For the sake of this article I will show you how to make your wedding budget spreadsheet using a text editor, simply because every computer has one.

1. Create a new document and name it “Wedding spreadsheet.”
2. On the first line, type Vendors, Estimated cost, Actual cost, Phone number and Completed.
3. Skip the second line an move to the third. Under vendors type every service you plan to use to put your wedding together such as transportation, printer, flowers, entertainment and so on. Try to keep your list organized so you will be able to easily scan an find what you need.
4. Next to each vendor on your list put the prices your were quoted when you call and their phone numbers, when you go and actually make your payments, put the amount you under the “Actual cost.” Once everything is delivered and approved by you, mark it off as completed.

It is that simple to make a wedding budget spreadsheet. Try not to forget to put anything new that comes up later on your spreadsheet. This one will be tailored to your wedding, but you can find some already made if you do a search in Google. Congratulations and do not forget to practice you vows.

About 700 million will go to programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

I was reviewing some of my future articles and realized that I constantly tell you to start a budget, but never explain how. Well, today I will explain the steps to creating a budget designed just for you… by you of course. You will need pen, paper, copies of all your bills, and to make a list of everything you will spend money on in the next 3 months. It is important to remember that a budget is not meant to restrict your spending, it is to help you become a better spender and a better saver of your money.

Making the list:

The first thing you need to start doing is to make a list of everything you buy over the next 3 months. This is not required to start your budget, but you will need it to help you fine tune your budget later. This will provide a visual of where all your money goes and help you to cut spending. Take a small notepad with you and write down everything you buy and how much it cost. Do not leave anything out, you will only be cheating yourself.

All That You Make:

Now you will need a list of all your income. If you are paid on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, try to add it up so you can view it as monthly amount. Make sure you list all your income, if you leave out any it will throw your budget off. Include your online auctions, stock trading, Adsense, and any other source of earnings you have.

Bills Bills Bills:

You will also need a list of all you monthly expenses. Mortgage, insurance information, car payment, entertainment, utilities etc…. Do not forget to include things that you do not get a bill for, such as church offerings, Starbucks coffee, trading software fees, Itunes and Iphone apps. It is very important to include entertainment expenses, this is a part of your life and should not be left out.

The moment of truth:

After you have all these listed, total the amounts and subtract you monthly expenses from your total monthly income. If your income exceeds your bills, use the extra to pay off your debts faster or add to your retirement. If your bills exceed your income you will need to cuts some expenses. Try starting with the things that you can live with out. If you are paying for things you do not use cancel them and redirect the money towards other bills. The 3 months list of your expenditures will help you to find other places you can cut expenses as well.

Once your income and your bills are equal the next step is to automate the paying of your bills. This will keep your bills paid on time and your savings growing without you lifting a finger. I will get into automating your bills next post, I try to keep my posts short, so they are quick easy reads.