Torgob24the family budget in plain words: a reference guide

An independent reference guide to the family budget. It is not financial or investment advice, not a bank or a government body, and has no connection to the former website on this domain.

Basics

The basics

A family budget is not a spreadsheet for an accountant but an answer to a simple question: how much money comes in, how much goes out and what is left for the future. Every family's budget is different, yet it is made of the same parts. Once you understand them, it is easier to see where your budget stands firm and where it needs support.

Money without a plan disappears on its own. Money with a plan disappears too, but to the places you chose to send it.

— Editor's note

This section describes the general logic of a household budget, without calculations for any particular family. Income, obligations and habits differ for everyone, so go by the principles rather than other people's numbers. Make decisions about loans, deposits and big purchases only after checking the terms of your own agreements.

What a budget is made of

Six parts found in every family's budget, even if nobody has ever named them.

Income

All the money that comes into the family: wages, side jobs, benefits, a pension, income from renting out property. It helps to separate regular income from one-off payments you cannot count on every month.

Terms

Fixed expenses

Payments that are hard or impossible to drop: housing, utilities, food, medicine, phone, transport, loan repayments. They determine how much the family needs simply to live without worry.

Guides

Variable expenses

Spending whose size depends on your choices: cafés, clothes, entertainment, gifts, trips. This is usually where you find room to manoeuvre when the budget needs tightening.

Guides

Savings

The part of income you set aside instead of spending at once: an emergency fund for the unexpected and separate amounts for specific goals. The habit of saving a little matters more than the size of any one contribution.

Guides

Debts

Loans, instalment plans, credit cards, money borrowed from relatives. Repayments reduce your free money for many months ahead, so any new debt is worth weighing against the whole budget.

Documents

Goals

What the family is saving for: renovation, a holiday, the children's education, replacing the car. A goal with a clear amount and deadline keeps you on track better than a vague wish to “save up some day”.

Examples

  • Guides

    Step-by-step guides: how to start tracking, build a rainy-day fund, prepare for a big purchase and agree on money with the people close to you.

  • Documents

    What to read in a loan agreement, deposit agreement, payment schedule and statement; where to find the full cost of a loan and how deposit insurance works in Russia.

  • Terms

    A glossary of household money: fixed expenses, emergency fund, payment schedule, early repayment, compound interest, inflation, key rate.

Sources

  • Bank of Russia materials on monetary policy
  • “Finansovaya kultura” (Financial Culture) — the Bank of Russia's financial literacy resource

These materials are based on Russian federal laws and public materials from the Bank of Russia. Rules and the terms of financial products change, and they differ from country to country, so before any important decision check your own country's official sources and the text of your own agreement.