Budgeting, quite simply, is the act of spending your money efficiently. The importance of budgeting cannot be overemphasized, and whether you’re looking at your individual finances or running a ...

A major part of budgeting is projecting fixed expenses versus variable expenses. The fixed ones are often much simpler to plan for because they will change less frequently and often the merchant ...

Determining your fixed and variable expenses is paramount to effectively building a budget. But while accounting for necessary costs is a simple and straightforward task, including discretionary ...

Fixed expenses are easier to plan around because they stay the same from one month to the next. Variable expenses, on the other hand, are less predictable. Understanding both types and how they impact ...

I'm a freelance financial journalist and a regular contributor to U.S. News and CreditCards.com. I've written for Life + Money by Citi, Bankrate and The Balance, among others. You can find me on ...