Family Budget Resources

With belts tightening, more families than ever are concerned about their budget. There are many resources available for working out a livable budget. Some are completely online, while others offer guidelines on developing a budget. If your patrons are looking for ways to track their income and expenses, here are a few resources you can direct them to:

The U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission offer a wealth of resources, from tips to save money, repairing credit, dealing with job loss and more. The section is near the bottom of the page at http://www.mymoney.gov/budget.shtml.

http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/family-budget-planner.html is a free Excel spreadsheet for budgeting.

http://www.investopedia.com/university/budgeting/ has a free online step by step tutorial on creating a budget.

Making ends meet, originally by University of Wisconsin Extension and adapted by Beverly R. Howell, Ph.D. in Mississippi at http://www.learnthat.com/finance/learn-164-family_budget.htm.

Saving money on groceries http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-save-money-on-groceries.

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/householdsavings/tp/Household_Save.htm shares a lot of ideas on living frugally.