Think of involving the entire family as a critical foundation for taking control of your living expenses. Below is a simple goals worksheet for your family to use in beginning to identify and prioritize your farm and family goals. Prioritize your goals within each category, then check to see if there is competition between goals in categories that compete for your family's resources. Adjustments and compromises will have to be made by the entire family. A cash-flow plan shows you the estimated timing and amount of both income and expenditures for your family.
Time is a crucial element in budgeting.
Successful budgeting will adjust expense timing to closely match that of expected income. To deal with the household expenditures, look at each expenditure and total them to get an estimate of the amount you need to allow for family living each year. Fixed expenditures are those that change very little from one year to the next. You can anticipate the amounts of money required and when the amounts are due. Examples are installment credit payments, medical and life insurance premiums, savings for emergencies and goals, and so on.