Ever gotten that feeling of anger and despair when you thought of making a budget? Then the odds are good you've never looked up the word in a good dictionary to find out what this word really means, and thought about how you can use that to your business's financial advantage.

Here's the good news. Running your business on a budget does not entail cutting back on the quality of the things you buy or not purchasing something your business needs to operate. What it does mean, is that you have to work out how to make enough money to afford the items your company has to have and to keep your expenditures under your income.

The even better news is this! The most valuable asset you have is your staff and yourself, and your ability to produce income. If you want a bigger spending budget, then figure out ways you and your staff can increase production to bring in more income.

Another definition you need know is this: a BUDGET is the amount of money required for the business to function, and to attain its financial goals.

Let's look at the first part of the definition; what it takes for you and your business to run. Look at your Profit & Loss Statement to find out how much you spent and add the amount you are carrying on credit cards plus interest. Divide the total by 52 weeks, and multiply it by 1.036. The result is your weekly budget. That is the total of money your business has to bring in just to function plus barely keep up with increases in the cost of doing business. That doesn't include paying accumulating interest on the debt.

More than likely, you have financial goals you also want the business to attain; That's the second part of the definition. Attaining those goals must get added to your budget as well.

Here is an example: a business owner wants to buy a new piece of equipment 6 months from now that costs $4,000. They divide the cost of the equipment by the 26 weeks they have before the target purchase date and learn they have to set aside $153.85 every week to have the cash for the equipment. This gets added to the budget, meaning the additional amount of income they have to put into the bank every week.

Most importantly, if you, the company owner, want to attain the goal of financial independence - working because you WANT TO instead of because you HAVE TO -- then the most critical part of the budget needs to be the wealth building money you set aside in a savings plan and never touch.

Work out the amount of cash you would have to have in savings to live without working. Divide that dollar amount by the number of weeks until the time you would like to be financially independent. Work out how to make that much more money each week, and your budget is on the correct path to gaining financial independence.

Do you absolutely want to be a millionaire in 20 years? Work out a way to grow the business's income enough to stash away $961.54 a week in savings for the next 1,040 weeks and you have made it to being a millionaire! The additional interest growth on top of that will be a fat bonus that more than keeps up with the rise in the cost of living every year.

In this day and age of computers proper budgeting is accomplished much more efficiently than ever before by using Money Management Software, such as shown in this video.. This software functions as a companion to your accounting software for really easy day-to-day operation.

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions has years of experience helping company owners and private individuals manage their income to achieve financial independence. To learn more, watch the FREE 5-minute demo video on the website www.MoneyMgmtSolutions.com