Ten percent is automatically added to your savings account every pay day Budgeting and planning means never finding an excuse not to save. 3. Investing Make an investment plan - Savings are meant to keep us warm during stormy nights; and when used wisely, savings can help us achieve financial freedom before we actually retire. It ultimately reverses the working process of traditional budgeting. In making a zero base budget, you do not need to refer to the previous level of expenditure as basis of a new one. In traditional references are given to the previous year estimates. Factors are given adjustments to arrive at the figures of current year's budget. From this initial picture, you can then forecast your expenses for the coming year. Household budgeting tips If this seems too complicated for you, you can start slowly by listing down budgeting tips you read in the magazine or thought of yourself. You can save money by being a smart shopper. You can clip out grocery coupons or check the mailers if any of the regular items you want to buy are on sale. The Australian National Audit Office has identified the advantages of activity based budgeting: The Advantages - Output costs are supported by a schedule of costed activities - Opportunities to examine work processes - Identifies non value-adding activities that can be eliminated - Basis of a performance measurement system and direct link between strategic goals and operational realities - Enables cost profiles to be managed - Accurate costing data for operational management - Costs are transparent, understandable and actionable Disadvantages - Activity definition may become too detailed and the model may become too complex and difficult to maintain - Underestimation of the task of collecting activity driver data - Implementation may be considered a financial management fad and there is insufficient commitment from operational managers Activity Based Budgeting Disadvantages - Usually requires buying Activity Based Budgeting software - Requires training of all managers including budgeting department - Requires people to really understand what drives their budget - Eliminates excuse that activity volume changed because it makes visible volume changes - Requires everyone to collect or estimate activity volume By understanding how resources are transformed into products or services, and byfocusing on the cost of activities, activity based budgeting helps an organisation to obtain a greaterunderstanding of how costs behave in their organization and which activities create significant amounts of cost. This way you will not only save money from not eating out but buying in bulk at the supermarket as well. The total cost of eating food at home is definitely less than you were spending fancy meals at a restaurant. Saving for the future is a constant and sweet reward of budgeting. In budgeting, you will be able to build your savings. You budget enough money for your house, may it be a condominium unit or an apartment. What it is doesn t matter, what matters is how livable it is. Personal budgeting doesn t just focus on money. It does focus mainly on money but should also not neglect the ambience of your chosen residence. For those who live alone, then you have to be more considerate and more price-meticulous of the place that you will live in.