Budget

A plan that estimates the income a period will bring in and assigns it to spending, saving, and debt repayment before the period begins.

A business must keep formal records, while a household keeps them by choice, so a personal budget is the voluntary form of the same discipline. Either way the plan starts from the income actually expected and gives every dollar a job before the period starts.

Often confused with

Projected Income Statement
A budget is the household version; a projected income statement is the business version of the same forward-looking page.

Taught in

See also

3.3.A.5 · 3.6.C.4 · 3.6.C.5 · 5.1.C.6