How to Create and Maintain a Budget while Living on a Fixed Income

Hello and welcome back to Second Chance to Live my friend. I am happy to see that you decided to stop by to visit with me. You are always welcome around my table. As I shared in my article and video series, My Journey thus Far, I had a long history of getting and losing jobs. The impact of getting and losing jobs was that I experienced a tremendous amount of financial insecurity in my life.

Because I experienced ongoing financial insecurity in my life, when I was deemed to be unemployable and approved to begin receiving a monthly SSDI check, I made a decision to curb my financial insecurity.The way in which I curbed my financial insecurity was to set up a monthly budget and stick to that budget. I have been told that I should share the system with other people who are living on a monthly SSDI check.

Below, I will share how I set up my monthly budget. The success of any budget is that I need to adhere and maintain the budget and live with in my means. Consequently, I am prudent and frugal with how and when I spend the funds allotted to me by my monthly SSDI check. I hope by studying my system, you too will be able to curb any financial insecurity that you may be experiencing my friend.

At the beginning of each month I have my check deposited into my checking account. When that money is deposited into my account, I set up my monthly budget accordingly. I will use the below table (s) to show how I set up my budget. At the top of each of the columns I put the category or what I need to pay for as the bill comes due each month. With in each column I place the budgeted amount of money.

General	Food	Savings	Gas	Rent	Auto/Renter’s Insurance
800 This amount is not going to change each month. To avoid financial insecurity be prudent. Do not spend money that you do not have and Do NOT use credit cards unless you already have money saved up and budgeted for that purchase.  When making purchases to pay for miscellaneous purchases, make sure to keep your receipts. By keeping your receipts from your purchases you can check for discrepancies when balancing your check book / register when you receive your bank statement.	I live with in my means and do not purchase items that I do not need, just because I may want them.	I add to this section, as I am able to each month from my general section – for a rainy day.	I approximate this amount from previous gas expenditures from the previous month. Deduct each gas purchase from this amount and pay attention to how much money is left for gas for the rest of the month.	Contact your area Programs for Accessible Living. They helped me get connected to an agency called the  Neighborhood Development Program which helped to assist me with my rent. Apply for Housing Assistance with the Housing Authority in your area.	I have this amount drafted from my checking account. Check with your insurance company – for your car – to see if bundling your car and renter’s insurance will save you money.

In the General section I put my monthly SSDI check. From that check I deduct my monthly expenses and the items that I budget for as I have a need. For sake of an example, say that I receive $800 SSDI check each month. When I have added together each of the amounts as shown below — to pay for bills and my budget — I then deduct the total from the monthly SSDI check that I have listed in my General section. Below is an example of how I add up my monthly bills and the money I allot for different budgets.

Bills                        Budget

Food	Toiletries
Gas	Automobile
Rent	Shoes
Car / Renter’s Insurance	Clothes
Utilities	Sneakers
Cable	Whatever else you would like to budget for to purchase in the future my friend
Gym Membership
Savings
Total Amount	Total Amount

Once I add up my bills and my budget expenses, I then deduct the total amount from my General Section and my SSDI check. Once I deduct the combined bills and budget items from my SSDI check amount, I then place the figured amounts that I will need to pay for those expenses under the designated column to pay for my expenses and budgeted items. When a bill comes due or is automatically deducted from my checking account, I then deduct that amount from each of the designated sections.

After I deduct my bills and my budget items from the General section – My SSDI Check – the left over money is used to pay for miscellaneous items during the month.With all my food, toiletry and  miscellaneous purchases made during the month, I save all of my receipts and place them in an envelope. I started this practice to check for errors that I may have made in my calculations when I receive my bank statement from the bank. By saving the receipts — if there is a discrepancy — I can check my records.

As a note, although I may not be able to budget only $5 or $10 each month for such things as toiletries, shoes, sneakers and clothes, ect., by budgeting some thing each month – over a period of months – I am able to budget enough money to pay for those items.

Planning, Prudence and being Frugal minimizes financial insecurity.

Utilities	Cable	Gym	Toiletries	Automobile	Shoes
I approximate this amount each month, based on the previous month’s bill. If it is more I take the amount from my general section to make up the balance.	Basic cable and internet. No frills, movies or services. I can watch TV shows online through Hulu, Fancast or other similar free services.	The YMCA that I work out at has a program to help individuals with low incomes. Check into similar programs that your local YMCA or YWCA. By doing so you may find that you can afford to work out at a gym on a regular basis. I am glad I checked into the program.	When you go to purchase these items and you are also buying food items, when you get to the register separate the toiletries from the food items. Then ask the person at the register / check out to put your food items on one receipt and your toiletries on another receipt. By doing so, when you get home, you will be able to deduct your food items from that section and your toiletries from your toiletries section.

Sneakers	Clothes	Budget Item	Budget Item	Budget Item	Budget Item

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