Ever gotten that gut wrenching fear in the pit of your belly when you thought of making a budget? Then chances are you've never looked up the word in a good dictionary and learned all about the correct definition, and thought about how you can use that to your financial advantage.

Here's the good news. Operating your company on a budget does not entail downgrading 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 figure out how to make enough income to afford the items your company has to have and to keep your expenditures within the limits of your income.

There's more good news! The most valuable asset you have is you and your staff, and your ability to produce income. If you want a bigger spending budget, then work out ways you and your employees can increase production to bring in more money.

A second definition you need know is this: a BUDGET is the amount of income needed for the business to do business, and to attain its financial goals.

Let's consider the first part of the definition; what it takes for you and your company to operate. Add up all the money you spent in the past year to see how much money went out the door including what you put on credit cards plus interest. Divide that amount by 52 weeks, and multiply it by 1.036. The result is your weekly budget. That is the amount of money your business has to bring in just to operate plus barely keep up with increases in the cost of doing business. That doesn't include paying accumulating interest on revolving credit debt.

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

Here is an example: a company owner wants to purchase new office furniture 6 months from now that costs $2,000. They divide the cost of the furniture by the 26 weeks they have before the target purchase date and learn they have to set aside $76.92 every week to have the cash for the furniture. 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 - not working because you HAVE to, but because you WANT to -- then the most critical part of the budget needs to be the wealth building money you stash in a savings plan and never touch.

Figure out how much money 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 free. Figure out how to make that much more money each week, and your budget is on the correct path to gaining financial independence.

How badly do you want to be a millionaire in 20 years? Figure out a way to increase the company's income enough to set aside $961.54 a week in savings for the next 1,040 weeks and you will be a millionaire! The additional interest earnings on top of that will be a huge additional 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 on-line video.. This software can work 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 business owners and individuals manage their income to achieve financial independence. To learn more, watch the FREE 5-minute demo video on her website www.MoneyMgmtSolutions.com