Here I found a Personal Monthly Budget in Excel template. Try it for yourself and tell me your result.

P/S : I’m using MS Office 2007, I’m not sure the template will work for previous version of Office or not)

Savings Creator #3 : Spend Your Way to Wealth

Almost all things we bought in stores will decrease in value over time. The shoes that we use to run, will past the point of un-resellable state after several wears. Or our grandiose newly launched 102 inches plasma TV will become obsolete in several months. So what is the solution? Easy, stop buying stuffs that deteriorate in value. Instead, find those that go up.

Instead of buying fingers-licking KFC meal, buy KFC Holdings stock. Spend a couple of hundreds once in a while or when you have extra savings. Remember the savings that you have made in Step 1 and Step 2? Spend that money in stocks or in other investments.

If you don’t have enough time or don’t know how to take care of the stocks, choose mutual fund instead. They require less maintenance and there are less risky that stocks.

Change your daily conversation to convey your new habit to your friends (so you won’t dare to come back to old habit). Instead of saying "I’m going to have a raise next month, wanna join me shopping for new furnitures?", change to "I got a couple of hundreds to spend but I’m not sure which one to buy, PIDF or PIEF?

So go ahead and spend your money. Spend as much as you want. But instead of buying things that later will have no value (like an empty ketchup bottle or a vacation), or virtually no value (like costume jewelry, clothing, or furniture), make sure the things you buy will retain and even grow in value. Remember: Life is a series of choices. I’m not telling you to stop spending money, merely to choose how you spend it.

Once you get into this habit, you’ll develop as much excitement buying investments as you currently do buying clothes. The reason that this is a foreign concept for you is that you have never bought anything that has retained its value — except maybe your house.

But once you start to buy things that rise in value, you’ll never look back. If you think shopping is fun, wait until you start shopping for things that make money for you. Now, that’s shopping!

[via ricedelman]

Want to know more about how to generate savings? Click our Generate Savings category.

Savings Creator #2 : Save Means Save

If you’re like most people, 50% discount means you got two items with the price of one. Let’s not view it that way. You must tell yourself that 50% means pay full amount but 50% goes to your savings. The next time you save your money from your purchases, save that saving into your savings account. Got it?

Make it one of your principal and honor it each time you make a purchase. It’s a simple step but the benefits are gigantic. In no time your savings will get fat thanks to your shopping habits. So, what you are waiting for, find those big signs and start saving the right way.

[via ricedelman]

Want to know more about how to generate savings? Click our Generate Savings category.

Savings Creator #1 : Pay Yourself First

Notice that at the end of every month, there will be no money left to be saved? You tried as much as possible but the spending is still on par, if not exceeding, with your income. Don’t worry, this happens almost to everyone. What you should do instead, the time you clear your paycheck, deduct RM10, or RM50 or whatever amount that you want to your savings account. The secret is to pay yourself first. At the end of the month, you won’t probably notice that you have a reduced monthly spending and additional amount in your account.

Opss.. I know we are all excited to know the next step but I have to stop here. Why? We all love to read and read or maybe fantasize doing it. Let’s put all the excitement into real world. Promise me that you will do this for June salary. I know I should write this earlier as we were already get paid. Well, keep one of the excuses behind and take out some of your remaining salary into your saving. Break that habit pattern and change yourself now.

[via ricedelman]