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Ever gotten that feeling of anger and despair when you thought of working out a budget? Then chances are you've never cracked a dictionary and learned all about the correct definition, and thought about how you can use that to your financial advantage.

Want some really good News? Running your business on a budget does not entail reducing 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 things your business has to have and to keep your expenditures under your income.

There's more good news! 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 a way your staff and you can be more productive to generate more income.

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

Let's look at the first part of the definition; how much is needed for you and your company 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 that amount by 52 weeks, and multiply it by 1.036. The result is what your weekly budget is. That is the amount 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 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 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 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 cash you set aside in a savings plan and never spend.

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 independent. Work out how to make that much more money each week, and you are truly on the right budget track to achieving 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 set aside $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 a nice add on perk that more than keeps up with the rise in the cost of living every year.

Today, with computers in every organization this task of budgeting is made so much easier by streamlined and automated Money Management Software, such as shown in this video.. This software functions as a companion to your accounting software for very efficient use with minimum manual effort.

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions has years of experience helping business owners and private individuals manage their income to achieve financial freedom. 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