How to start
You need to start by making a list of expenses. There are different ways to do this; you can learn about them through various special projects by getting acquainted with the experience of their participants.
As a rule, everyone makes a list in a way convenient for them – it could be a table in Excel, an official business project compiled according to all the rules, or just a list written by hand on a plain sheet. At this stage, you need to choose based on your own convenience; if you don't have the skills to work with the necessary programs, then you shouldn't start learning them just to calculate expenses.
This is called a banal procrastination of the process, when a person takes on completely unnecessary tasks just to avoid dealing with the main issues. This type of behavior is also known as 'white page fear', when a person doesn't know where to start and therefore puts off all the work.
Overcoming this fear is quite simple – you just need to write down all possible expense items in a column, without specifying any amounts next to them. Then you choose the simplest item – for example, office supplies – and indicate the amount needed for purchase. And so, gradually, you need to move from simple to complex – as you fill out the list, you will feel excitement from seeing the work done, and all fears will fade into the background.
What to do and what not to do
Now that you know how to fill out an expense list, you need to remember two rules. First – you cannot be an optimist in this process, that is, you cannot put in completely unjustified numbers. For example, friends promised to rent out premises cheaply, office equipment can be bought next week at a sale at a discount, you don't need to pay the accountant's salary – a friend promised to do it for free, etc. You have to pay for everything and use real amounts, always relying on average market prices; if you manage to save money, then you can transfer those funds to a stabilization fund.
Second – after the plan is drawn up, expenses can be optimized using various techniques. At the same time, you cannot touch the stabilization fund, but other items, if there is a guaranteed opportunity to save, can and should be reduced.
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