What comes to mind when I say the word ‘budget’?  To many people, budgeting can imply a severe austerity and strictness to living that is more than off-putting.  So what happens?  They simply avoid it.

Although many people get by with no formal budget, I would highly encourage you do one for yourself; mainly because most massage therapists works for themselves and their income and expenses can fluctuate significantly from month to month or even week to week.  An appropriate budget can help you smooth out those bumps and plan for future expenditures as well.

In my e-book, Financial Strategies, I spend a lot of time on budgeting including explaining the differences between fixed and variable expenses as well as how to use your budget to help you set your professional fees.  The most important thing I talk about though is the necessity of doing two budgets, one for your personal life and one for your business.

The reason this is important is because as a solo entrepreneur your business not only needs to make enough money to keep itself going but it also has to make enough money to fund your personal life.  Having a budget helps you keep track of where your money is and where it’s going.

Another benefit of having a sound budget is that it will allow you to better plan your medium and long term goals.  One thing I encourage my clients is to do at the beginning of the year is to figure out what CEU classes they want to take that year.  Once they plan their classes, they can start setting aside money for them.  This allows them to avoid using credit cards and save on all the extra interest.