Form 8453 S Allowance 2021-2025

Hello and welcome back! It's Amanda Christiansen with Utah State University Extension. Today, I'll be talking about one of my absolute favorite personal finance tips. Today's quick tip is all about a personal allowance. A personal allowance is a set amount of money that you allocate every month to spend on the extras. You know, the $5 DVD at Walmart or the extra treat at the movies that wasn't planned. These are the things that you spend your personal allowance on every month. I know we would all like to be at the point in our lives when we can buy what we want, when we want, regardless of our budget. But if that's not you, if you're still working up to that like I am, then remember the personal allowance doesn't have to be a ton of money every month. It can be $5, it could be a hundred dollars. You just need to determine what you can feasibly spend out of your budget and still meet your expenses every month. To be successful with the personal allowance, you must hold yourself to the predetermined amount you set. I recommend taking this amount out in cash every month, if it's not too much money to carry around in your wallet. When the cash is gone, it's gone. And you still have the flexibility within your budget to buy the things you want. The personal allowance is one of my favorite financial tips because I think it helps us avoid financial conflict. Whether that's conflict with a spouse overspending, with a parent, or even with ourselves. It gives us the opportunity to be self-disciplined with our spending. Taking out the set amount of cash each month and saving it over time can also allow us to purchase something big that we want. That's it for...