Welcome

Welcome to BudgetBase.

When it comes to personal finance, most people overcomplicate things. The truth is, there are really just three steps you need to focus on:

1. Budget
2. Save
3. Invest

Everything else builds from here.

1) Budget

Use a budget religiously.

A budget isn’t just saying, “I’ll only spend $50 on junk food or $100 on video games.

Budgeting means tracking every single dollar – every dollar that comes in, and every dollar that goes out. If it isn’t written down, it doesn’t count.

This is the foundation of financial control. Without it, you’re just guessing.

2) Save

The ultimate goal is simple: spend less than you earn.

If you do that, you create a surplus each month. That surplus is your savings.

And here’s the key: the only way to know whether you’re actually spending less than you earn is to track it. That’s what a budget gives you.

With even 6 months of budgeting data, you’ll have a clear picture of your income and spending. Then you can analyze it, spot overspending, and make changes. It really is that simple: if you don’t have a surplus (savings) each month, you only have 2 options: 1) generate more income, or 2) spend less money. For the majority of people, the most practical option is to cut expenses.

Once you see where your money is going, you’ll know exactly where to make those adjustments – and from there, you can consistently spend less than you earn and grow your savings.

3) Invest

Once you’ve mastered the first 2 steps, and you’re consistently spending less than you earn each month, it won’t take long before you have a pretty good pile of money saved up.

It doesn’t take someone with a fancy finance degree to understand that all of this money (savings) sitting in cash is not ideal. One thing that you have to be comfortable with, is that cash is the worst asset you can hold over the long-term.

Cash sitting in a savings account may feel safe, but it’s actually losing value over time. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the long-term average (1914-2025) rate of inflation is around 3.29%. Does your savings account offer anywhere near this in interest? That means keeping all of your money in cash is a guaranteed negative return.

This means that you have to get out of cash, and into “risk assets.” You have to invest in assets that will grow faster than inflation, so your money keeps its value and builds wealth for the future.

The BudgetBase Mission

Everything here at BudgetBase comes back to these three steps: