When you are a busy mom, a busy professional – or both – it is nearly impossible to stay on top of housekeeping. However, it is very important to have a clean house to relax in at the end of a hectic day. If this scenario sounds familiar to you, then it might be time for you to determine if your household budget can afford a professional cleaning service.
Here are some handy tips to help you get a monthly budget created, and to determine whether or not your household budget can allow for residential cleaning.
1. Get A Household Budgeting Chart Created
The first step that you need to take is to determine whether you can afford to pay for a professional cleaning service is making a budget worksheet for yourself. You can find many printable budget charts online. However, there are also programs such as Excel that have household expense spreadsheet templates. Fill the columns out for your income and your expenses such as groceries, student loan payments, and childcare. You might find it useful to review your past few bank statements in order to get a good idea of what your variable and fixed expenses are.
2. Don’t Forget Any Of Your Expenses
There are certain expenses – like annual credit card fees or your quarterly auto insurance payments that don’t hit each month. In order to avoid any nasty surprises when those types of bills arise, set aside some money every month in your household budget. Also, add some known outliers into your budget as well. For example, you may know that in June your car is going to need new tires. It also can be helpful to track your small expenses, such as your mid-morning coffee. After you have a better idea of where your money is coming and going, you will be better able to figure out whether you can realistically afford to hire a professional cleaning service.
3. Plan Whenever Possible
Major one-time expenses such as a vacation can really make a big dent in your monthly household expense if you don’t plan correctly. It also is a good idea to save money for expensive surprises like emergency situations or car repairs. Use resources such as Mint for setting financial goals and make sure you track your weekly progress. Having some financial insight really can make a huge difference in whether you can hire a professional cleaning service or not.
4. Leave Yourself Some Wiggle Rooms
It is a good idea for your household budget to have some flexibility, so you can treat your children to an afternoon treat or enjoy lunch with friends every once in a while. Make sure you have some “mad money” that you can play around with, if at all possible. The purpose of having a budget, after all, is helping you figure out what you really can afford, rather than squeezing every final penny until you are completely miserable.
5. Get Prices On House Keeping Services
After your budget is in place, you can then evaluate it to determine whether you can afford to hire a professional cleaning service or not. Keep your house expenses spreadsheet handy and research local cleaning services online. Then contact local businesses and ask for price estimates. Remember, cheaper is not always better. When looking at prices for residential cleaning services, make sure to consider customer reviews and reputation before making your final decision.
If you get your household budgeting complete and discover that you can’t afford a professional cleaning service, take another look at it. You might be able to adjust or cut out a non-necessity to make up the shortfall. Or make it a budget goal to afford housekeeping services in the future. You can contact your local cleaning professionals North Atlanta Cleaning. Let us help you with our services call us today!
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