Similar to running a business, your household should be run on a snug budget.  The household budget should be set out annually but reviewed as new bills or changes in income and expenditure take place.  This would mean that a regular monthly budget check would make common sense.

As in business there needs to be room for negotiation between “management” (person responsible for running the household) and the “board” (the rest of the family): allowing discussions on discretionary spending such as holidays, clothing allowances, entertainment etc., how much can be allocated after all other fixed and irregular bills have been budgeted for.

When the whole family are involved in setting out the allocation spend for holidays say, they will all be made aware of the overall household budget and perhaps realise that if they remember to turn off that light, or switch off the TV when they leave the room, that this might make the difference between day trip to Bangor or 2 weeks in Barbados!  This will help the whole family focus on the family goals and may get everyone working towards reducing the running costs of your home.

An excellent free tool to help you manage your household budget can be found at BillsManager.com.  When you start up a household budget account here, it will not only track your spending but will also keep you on track with future spending.

BillsManager will adjust your budget automatically for you; if your car insurance bill is cheaper this year, BillsManager will correct the figure for next years’ bill.  A regular update to your BillsManager account allows you to see your household cash flow and indicates how much money you need at any given time in your bank account to enable payment of your bills when they fall due.  BillsManager will also keep track of all income and expenditure to include not only the regular and irregular household bills but also the discretionary spending and enable you to make changes to your household budget where necessary.