As many of you know, the secret to my success lies in my (hard earned) ability to budget and stick to that budget.
A wise man (or woman who knows) once said, the secret to budgeting is to overestimate your expenses and underestimate your income. Basically, that’s what I do.
Since my paycheque is based on an hourly wage, the number of working days within that payperiod, with a commission based on something out of my control, and you have a crap shoot as to what my paycheque will be.
I have an add on spreadsheet that I have tacked onto my timesheet spreadsheet that estimates my paycheque based on what I put into that timesheet spreadsheet. I call this my “can I make rent” spreadsheet.
To estimate what taxes will be taken off, I have found that you can average about 24% of your gross will be taken off for taxes.
What I have done with this spreadsheet is take 25% off for taxes. This way I think that my paycheque will be less than it actually is.
I base my overall budget for the upcoming paycheque on a safe, lower number than what I might get. Why?
This way, if I can make my budget balance (even if a bit tight) on a lower estimated income, then I have a happy moment when I open that paycheque envelope and find a slightly larger amount.
I also avoid the shock and horror to find out that the actual number is less than I had estimated. Then I have to scramble to find a way to cut back and balance the budget, but in a negative way.
The other way, I have the happy joyous feeling of “what will I do with this extra money?” (giggle-giggle). That, my friends, is the payday surprise!
As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive and keep moving forward!
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