When you have a very busy schedule, you may find it difficult to keep up with the housekeeping. At the same time, you do enjoy having a clean home to relax after work. If all these sound familiar to you, it may be time to see how you can budget for a professional cleaning service.
Let’s see how you can create a monthly budget and how you can evaluate the opportunity of hiring a professional residential cleaning service.
1. Make A Detailed Household Budgeting Chart
Creating a budget worksheet is the first step in finding out whether you can afford a cleaning service or not. You’ll probably find lots of printable budget charts online. You’ll also find special programs like Microsoft Excel that come with various budget spreadsheet templates you can use to create your own, customized household expenses chart. Define and fill out specific columns for your income and for expenses such as groceries, childcare, loan payments, and other such things. If needed, take a look at your latest back statements to see what your expenses are.
2. Add All Expenses To Your Chart
Annual credit card fees, insurance payments and other expenses won’t appear every month. This doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be part of your household budget. For better management of such expenses, consider setting aside a small amount every month. Make sure that you also include known outliers. If, for instance, you know that you’re going to buy new car tires in September, ensure that you include this expense in your budget. Tracking small expenses may also prove to be useful. The more accurate you are, the easier it’s going to be to figure out whether you can afford a professional cleaning service.
3. Plan Wisely
Big one-time expenses can affect your household expenses spreadsheet if you don’t know how to plan for them the wise way. You should also have savings set aside to be able to handle emergencies such as car repairs, accidents, and sickness. Set your monetary goals with the help of Mint or other similar resources. This should enable you to track your weekly progress. By planning your expenses the wise way, you may be able to find money for hiring a professional cleaning service.
4. Be Flexible
Your household budgeting shouldn’t be too strict. Allow some room for dinners with friends, barbecue parties, and occasional treats. The purpose of a budget is to help you see what you can afford, not to frustrate you and to make you feel miserable.
5. Research Housekeeping Services Prices
Once you have your budget in front of your eyes, you can see if you can really afford to pay for professional cleaning services. Research area cleaning services online and contact various providers to ask for cost estimates. This doesn’t mean that you should choose the cheapest one, as cheapest isn’t always the best. However, you need to compare multiple quotes from different providers in order to be able to choose the one that offers you the best value for money.
If your budget analysis leads you to the conclusion that you can’t afford to pay for professional cleaning, breathe and take a second look. Is there anything you can give up? Are there things you buy but don’t actually use? By making the necessary adjustments, you may be able to find money for housekeeping services.
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