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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 cracked a dictionary to find out the correct definition, and worked out how you can use that to your business's financial advantage.

Here's the good news. Operating your company on a budget does not mean downgrading the quality of the things you buy or denying your company anything it 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 your staff and yourself, and your income producing potential. If you want a bigger spending budget, then figure out a way you and your employees can increase production to bring in more money.

Another definition you need know is this: a BUDGET is the sum total of the income needed for the organization to function, and to reach its goals.

Let's look at 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 the total by 52 weeks, and multiply it by 1.036. The result is what your weekly budget is. That is the total of income your business has to bring in just to operate plus barely keep up with rising prices. That doesn't include paying compund interest on revolving credit debt.

More than likely, you have financial goals you also want the business to reach; That's the second part of the definition. Reaching those goals must get added to 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 reach the goal of financial independence - working because you WANT TO instead of because you HAVE TO -- then the most important part of the budget needs to be the wealth building money you stash in an investment plan and never touch.

Work 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. Work out how to make that much more income each week, and you are truly on the right budget track 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 earnings on top of that will be a a nice add on perk that more than keeps up with the rise in the cost of living every year.

In this day and age of computers this task of budgeting is made so much easier by streamlined and automated Money Management Software, such as shown in this video.. This software operates 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 private individuals manage their income to achieve financial independence. To find out about the Money Management Software described in this article, watch the FREE 5-minute demo video on her website www.MoneyMgmtSolutions.com