- Save on Int'l CallsWorldwide rates as cheaps as 1.9 cents,no contract, call from your cell
- Free Poetry ContestAll amateur poets invited Share your poetry and have a chance to win 10k!
- Why Not Fly FreeSimple and highly effective guide how to accumulate FREE airline tickets, written by a travel agency owner.
- Resume And Cover Letter Secrets RevealedGet the job you want in 30 days - or your money back!
- Amazing Cover LettersThe Amazing Cover Letter Creator! Job search cover letters guaranteed to get you noticed, interviewed and hired!
---------------------------------------------------
Living on a Budget - How To Create One...
---------------------------------------------------
We all know that teachers need to live on a budget. The problem is that most of us try to keep a 'running tab' in our heads, and then call it a budget. Guess what? It doesn't work!
If you want to get serious about making the most of your teacher’s salary, you'll have to actually sit down and write it down. It takes a little planning to create a budget that you can actually stick to, but once you do, you'll see those dollars stretching a lot farther than you ever imagined.Here's a quick guide to get you started.
Step one: Make a spreadsheet (or even piece of paper with columns) and then create titles for those columns of the things you spend money on the most. Sure, you'll want to include rent, food, utilities and the other normal expenditures, but don't forget the all those little things that add up. Do you drink two cokes per day? That's $42 per month. Have your car washed every week? $20-30 per month. Write down everything for six weeks, then you'll be ready to move on to the next step.
Step two: The next step is to take your average monthly expenditures, and compare them to your incoming salary. Are you in the red or the black?
Step three: Now you should create an "ideal" budget where you would get to spend what you wanted. (While still being realistic)
Step four: Now you'll likely have some adjustments to make! If your ideal budget isn’t in line with your "realistic" salary, you have to cut back in some areas. The best way to do this is by subtracting the amount that you HAVE to spend (rent, transportation, etc.) and then dividing up the remainder on your non-essential expenditures. For example, if you cut back to one coke per day, you could still afford to wash your car every other week.
Step five: Stick with it! It's useless to take the time to create a budget if you're not going to stick with it. Promises yourself that you'll give it two months, and then see how you feel.
By Michelle Simmons
ESLemployment Editor-at-Large
---------------------------------------------------
Like this article? Let someone know! Click here to send it to a friend.
ESL / EFL Articles Home | ESL / EFL Jobs Home
RSS Feeds- "ESL Lesson Plan" - A blog for ESL Teachers
- All Things Considered - And More
- Trick or Treat Jib-Jab Style
- Listening Across The Years - Old Time Radio
- TED: Ideas Worth Spreading
- "ESL School" - A blog for ESL employers and managers
- Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
- Self-directed learning
- Book of the month
- Online testing
- Recommend Us!
- Tell a Friend about ESL employment!