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3+ Expense Plan Templates in PDF
Plans are an important part of everyone’s life. Planning is everything. And to manage your expenses, plans are very important. An expense plan helps to determine how you want to spend your money as compared to how you should spend it. In other words, it helps to make a budget for your household expenses. And such plans are made with the help of Expense Plan Templates.
7 Steps to Make an Expense Plan
Step 1: Determine the Goals
The first step to creating an expense plan is to determine the goals. In other words, you need to ask yourself why you are making the plan. There are two types of goals that people generally choose from. This includes short term goals and long term goals. The short term goals determine how you should spend the money for the day. The long term goals determine how you should spend and save your money for the years to come. You can set your goals according to any one of them or both of them.
Step 2: Calculate the Income
To make an expense plan, you need to determine your income. First of all, make a list of all sources of your income. Then proceed to note down how much money you make from each source. These sources can be such as your salary, bonuses, incentives, alimony payment, child support, etc. In the case that you are not aware of the exact amount for any of the sources, you can make an estimate to input in the plan.
Step 3: Calculate the Expenses
After you have calculated your income, you need to calculate your expenses. There are three types of expenses that a person can incur. This includes fixed expenses, variable expenses, and discretionary expenses. The fixed expenses include expenses like your mortgage or your rent. Variable expenses include the money that you spend based on your needs such as groceries. Discretionary expenses include those expenditures that you make occasionally such as on entertainment and recreation. Make three separate columns for these and then write down the respective expenses.
Step 4: Determine Other Financial Priorities
An expense plan should include other financial priorities too such as emergency funds, funds for paying off debts, savings, etc. If you have some finances such as these, then you need to make a distinct column for them. Provide a title to the column and then jot down the estimates of how much you would or could need for each.
Step 5: Analyze the Spending
When you have the income and the spending in front of you, you can start to analyze the spending. The main purpose of making an expense plan is to make sure that your expenditures do not exceed your income. When comparing the income and spending you listed, if you find that more money is going out than coming in, you need to devise a plan accordingly. Make sure that the plan you make is in line with your goals. For example, if you have a long term goal to save money for future education, then you need to make a plan where your expenses are less than your income.
Step 6: Review the Plan
After making the plan, you need to monitor it for one or two months. This is because, generally, no one can make an expense plan that works at the first try. Keep track of your plan and see which areas need adjusting. Check to see if the estimates you made are working or not. If not, make adjustments to that as well. Even after all the necessary adjustments and corrections have been made, you need to review and revise the plan weekly to keep it updated.
Step 7: Commit to the Plan
The most important step in the making of the expense plan is to follow the plan and stick to it. Creating an expense plan is easy. What is not easy is following that plan. However, if you cannot convince yourself to do that, there will be no point in making the plan altogether. Just keep in mind that the only way you will be able to meet the goals you set is to commit to the plan.
3+ Expense Plan Templates
1. Shared Expense Plan Template
kscourts.orgExpense plans can be made for several purposes. A shared expense plan is made when you have plans to divide some expenses among a few people. To help you make such a plan, we are providing you with this professional plan template. This template is available to be downloaded in PDF format. The template is fully editable and printable.
2. Transit Expense Plan Template
benefits.comAn expense plan is drafted to determine how an individual is supposed to spend his or her money. The expense plan serves basically as a budget. Do you want to make such plans? Then this basic plan template is just for you. This template can help you make expense plans for your needs and ensure the proper management of your finances.
3. Printable Expense plan
kean.eduAre you looking for a tool to manage your expenses? Then you need to make an expense plan. And that is exactly what this simple plan template is here for. This template features a sample printable expense plan that just requires you to fill in the necessary details. The template is very simple and easy to use. So download the template now to make use of it!
4. Expense Management Travel Plan in PDF
codec.plWith this free plan template, you can get your hands on an example of an expense management travel plan. The template features original headings and content written by professional writers. The template has been created specifically to help you make proper expense plans. This template is the best tool out there for this task.
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