| The first question I ask of any business | | | | paycheck) |
| owner is, "What is your overhead cost?" Most | | | | |
| business owners know this answer. If you ask | | | | - Mortgage Insurance (PMI-Private Mortgage |
| anyone off the street about his or her | | | | Insurance) |
| household overhead, I would receive a look of | | | | |
| a blank face.What is your household overhead? | | | | - Renters Insurance (I always recommend |
| The term "overhead" is used in business quite | | | | purchasing renters insurance. It is very |
| a bit. Overhead is the day-to-day cost and | | | | affordable.) |
| monthly/yearly cost of operating your | | | | |
| household. You would be amazed at how many | | | | - Disability |
| people do not know what it cost to "operate" | | | | |
| their house. They think they know until they | | | | - Life |
| actually put pencil to paper and write out | | | | |
| every cost. They are usually very surprised | | | | - Long-term healthcare |
| how much money is actually wasted and where | | | | |
| it all goes. And it goes pretty damn | | | | - AutomobileEntertainment |
| fast.Just as business owners know their | | | | |
| overhead the same should be for those who run | | | | - Concerts/Movies/DVD Rentals |
| a household. And we all operate a household | | | | |
| whether you are one person or a family of | | | | - Books |
| four. You must operate your household like a | | | | |
| business therefore you need to know how much | | | | - Hobbies |
| it cost to operate your house.So let's put | | | | |
| paper to pencil. You need to know what you | | | | - Memberships/Dues |
| spend on the following:Groceries & Restaurant | | | | |
| Purchases- This includes weekly grocery | | | | - Vacations |
| shopping, eating out at restaurants, take-out | | | | |
| (pizza night, Chinese food night, etc), | | | | - Subscriptions |
| convenience stops at local grocer, WAWA, | | | | |
| 7-11, Circle K, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, | | | | - Toys |
| local bagel shop, etc.Automobile Costs | | | | |
| | | | - Cable TVMiscellaneous |
| - Monthly car payment | | | | |
| | | | - Medical co-pays/co-insurance |
| - Gas & Oil (Shopping for the cheapest | | | | |
| gasoline for your car is not the best move. | | | | - Dental |
| Sometimes a cheaper gas can cause problems | | | | |
| for our cars and in turn cost you more in the | | | | - Vision |
| long run). | | | | |
| | | | - Prescriptions |
| - Oil Change (It is true you should change | | | | |
| the oil every 3000 miles. It will make | | | | - Accountant |
| your car last longer). | | | | |
| | | | - Attorney |
| - Repairs (You should save $20-25 per | | | | |
| paycheck for repairs) | | | | - Bank charges |
| | | | |
| - Parking | | | | - Educational Costs |
| | | | |
| - Public TransportationHousing/Shelter Costs | | | | - Postage |
| | | | |
| - Mortgage/Rent (If you are paying a | | | | - Any other expensesInvestments |
| mortgage, some folks take the advantage of | | | | |
| bi-monthly payment. Bi-monthly payment means | | | | - Personal savings |
| your mortgage company splits your monthly | | | | |
| payment by two and they automatically | | | | - 401K |
| withdraw the payment twice per month. This | | | | |
| figures out to be one extra payment per year | | | | - Charities |
| and in turn it could shorten the life of your | | | | |
| 30-year mortgage loan to 21-22 years. Some | | | | - Stocks/Bonds/Mutual FundsNow that you have |
| folks do not want to give their mortgage | | | | a budget outline you should complete this |
| company anymore than due and they would | | | | form over a 3-month period. The reason for a |
| rather invest the money in stocks, CD's, | | | | 3-month period is because a one-month |
| etc.) | | | | snapshot is not long enough for a proper |
| | | | analysis.After your 3-month analysis you will |
| - Property Taxes | | | | be able to see where you spend your money and |
| | | | the cost for operating your household and |
| - Utilities (Electric, Water, Sewer, Gas, | | | | lifestyle, hence your personal lifestyle |
| Trash) | | | | overhead. Armed with this information you |
| | | | will be able to make changes and hopefully |
| - Telephone (Many people are considering | | | | begin to save more and spend wiser.Please |
| dropping their land-line. This might be a | | | | keep in mind just as in business life |
| good idea. If you are not in business for | | | | changes. Sometimes the change is slow (paying |
| yourself yet (and hopefully you will be soon) | | | | off your school loan) or sometimes fast |
| why have more than one telephone. | | | | (becoming ill and needing your appendix out |
| | | | immediately). One should prepare for these |
| - Security/Alarm | | | | changes to the best of their ability and one |
| | | | way is saving money in your bank, envelope, |
| - RepairsPersonal Costs- Haircuts | | | | jar, etc. for the life's little "Uh-oh's".It |
| | | | is easier than you think to keep/analyze your |
| - Toiletries | | | | overhead. There are many computer programs |
| | | | that will do this for you. One such program |
| - Laundry | | | | is Quicken. There are many others. It will |
| | | | make your life much easier (and your |
| - Dry-cleaning | | | | accountant's).I hope you enjoyed this |
| | | | article.Here's to your Health, Wealth & |
| - Childcare | | | | Happiness!Michael J. KayeMichael J. Kaye is a |
| | | | chiropractic physician practicing in Bucks |
| - Gifts given | | | | County, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the |
| | | | American Chiropractic Association, |
| - Allowance for children | | | | Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association and the |
| | | | American Chiropractic Rehabilitation Board. |
| - Clothing | | | | He has a sub-specialty in Chiropractic |
| | | | Rehabilitation. He is the director of The |
| - Vitamins/SupplementsLoans | | | | Rehab Group of Bucks/Montgomery County-a |
| | | | multidisciplinary clinic with an emphasis on |
| - Revolving charges, i.e. department store | | | | chronic pain and wellness. He is a publisher |
| charges | | | | of two papers on rehabilitation of chronic |
| | | | injuries. In general his clinic promotes |
| - Student loan payments | | | | nutritional and lifestyle changes for the |
| | | | chronic pain patient.Dr. Kaye also developed |
| - AlimonyInsurances | | | | a web site dedicated to Health, Wealth & |
| | | | Happiness. He authored an e-book titled, "The |
| - Health (Add this to your budget even if | | | | Living Triad"-a book about the pursuit of |
| your employer automatically deducts from your | | | | changing lives to live longer. |