Title: How to master your personal finances by making your budget

Introduction
I. Attention Getter:
A starting statistic: According to Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus (2001), who
have a wonderful book called 'Love People, Use Things. Because the Opposite Never
Works’, 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Can you imagine the stress and
uncertainty that this brings into their lives?
II. Thesis / Central Idea:
This day, I want to share with all of you the importance of making a budget. I want to guide
you through the steps to create an effective budget and introducing you to some tools and
resources to help you achieve what everyone desires: financial stability.
III. Main Point Preview:
• First of all, let's all understand why having a budget is crucial.
• Then, let me walk you through the steps of making a very easy budget.
• And finally, we'll take a look at a very nice tool that can make budgeting a lot easier
and more effective for your life.
Transition to the Body:
Let's take a look into the core of our discussion: the process of making an easy budget.
Body
I. Understanding the Importance of Budgeting
• Mentioning the consequences of financial mismanagement: stress, debt, and other
things.
• Highlighting the benefits of budgeting: financial security and reduced stress.
II. The Steps to Make a Budget
• Assessing your current financial situation by looking at these important things: income,
expenses, and, of course, debt.
• Setting financial goals: short, medium, and long-term.
• Creating a realistic budget: assigning funds for essentials, savings, and discretionary
spending.
III. Knowing Useful Tools for Budgeting
• Budgeting apps: exploring a very popular option, which is EveryDollar (2024).
• Spreadsheet templates: Using Excel or Google Sheets.
Transitions:
Now that we've covered the most important aspects of budgeting, let's make a recap of our
key points before jumping to our discussion.
Conclusion
I. Main Point Conclusion Review:

• Today, we have discussed why budgeting is essential for a general financial well-
being.
• We've also explored the step-by-step process of creating a budget.
• We've identified a very easy tool to track your budget.
II. Thesis / Central Idea:

• Keep in mind, having a realistic personal budget is crucial for maintaining effective
control of your financial income and expenses.
III. Clincher or Memorable Statement:

• To achieve financial freedom, always remember that a well-crafted budget is not a

restriction but rather a roadmap to financial freedom, and, what Luna Rainstorm
says, it’s a key aspect for organizational success (2023). It's time to start budgeting
today and get on the path to a brighter financial future!

Works Cited:
• Millburn, J. F., Nicodemus, R. (2021). Love People, Use Things: Because the
Opposite Never Works. United States: Celadon Books.
• Rainstorm, L. Z. (2023). Master Budgeting: Orchestrating Your Financial Success.
Spain: Shuttle Systems.
• Ramsey Solutions. (n.d.). EveryDollar. Retrieved May 14, 2024, from
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/ramseyplus/everydollar/home
SPEECH WITH KEYWORDS

Speech: How to Master Your Personal Finances by Creating a Budget

I want to share with you how my journey to mastering personal finance began. It began a few
years ago, during personal financial struggles that many people find all too familiar. I decided
to break the cycle of living with the stress of not being in control of my finances and I went
into the world of budgeting and financial planning.
According to Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus (2001), who have a wonderful
book called 'Love People, Use Things. Because the Opposite Never Works', 78% of
Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Can you imagine the stress and uncertainty that this
brings into their lives? I was one of them!
Today, I want to share with all of you the importance of making a budget.
First, let's understand why having a budget is important.
Then, I'll walk you through the steps of making a very easy budget.
And finally, we'll look at a great tool that can make budgeting much easier and more effective
for your life.
Let's take a look into the core of our discussion: the process of making an easy budget.
Now, let's highlight the benefits of budgeting.
Now, I am going to share the steps to make a budget:
- First, you have to evaluate your current financial situation.
- You have to gather all the sources of income you have, such as: jobs, secondary activities.
Everything that generates income for you.
You have to set financial goals:
There is the short term (0-1 year)
Then there is the medium term (1-3 years)
Finally, you have the long-term term (more than 3 years)
To make a realistic budget, keep in mind:
- Start by taking into account what the essential fixed expenses are.
- Then allocate funds for variable costs (such as groceries, gas, utilities)
Now, for you to be able to manage your budget, I highly recommend to use EveryDollar
(2024), which is very a popular budgeting app that you can use. This app helps you to
connect to your banks to track spending automatically. It also, lets you create customized
budget categories. Besides this app, you can also use spreadsheets.
Let's summarize the main points.
• Today, we discussed why budgeting is essential for overall financial well-being.
• We explored the step-by-step process of creating a budget.
• We identified an easy tool to track your budget.
• Keep in mind, having a realistic personal budget is crucial for maintaining effective control
of your financial income and expenses.
To achieve financial freedom, always remember that a well-crafted budget is not a restriction
but rather a roadmap to financial freedom, and as Luna Rainstorm says, it's a key aspect for
organizational success (2023). It's time to start budgeting today and get on the path to a
brighter financial future!