How and what you budget for depends on the short term and long -term goals you set. Consider where you are in your life and where you want to go.

You can use any instrument that is comfortable for you.

No, it is for you to plan all your monies, be it expenses or investments or incomes etc.

Setting up a budget is only the first step. Sticking to the budget is even more important, motivate yourself by thinking about the version you set for your financial future.

The 28/36 rule states that a household should spend no more than 28% of gross income on total housing expenses, and no more than 36% on all debt. 28% Housing: This rule consists of housing expenses known as PITI: monthly principal, interest, property taxes and insurance. It also includes any HOA or condo fees.

One reason why some people stop using a budget is because there are many expenses that don't seem to have a place in their budget. This is partly to be expected and is easy to fix. Any good budget will have a "miscellaneous" category for all disparate expenses that come up in a given month or year. A target budget for miscellaneous expenses can be made by simply looking over purchases made over a few months’ time and calculating a simple average. What came up that had to be fixed, bought or borrowed? Would you be able to include those surprises in any of your other categories? If not, then add these miscellaneous costs to your budget to cover for the rest of the year.

You can update it as often as you can, some update it daily as they spend money and some do it weekly so it depends on what you are comfortable with.

A credit report is a detailed breakdown of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau

Check your credit reports at least once per year, and more in certain situations. A big part of maintaining good credit is checking your credit reports frequently. You should check them once per year, and more in certain situations.

Begin by telling the credit bureau what information you believe is inaccurate. Credit bureaus must investigate the item(s) in question-usually within 30 days-unless they consider your dispute frivolous. Include copies (NOT originals) of documents that support your position.

For a score with a range between 300-850, a credit score of 700 or above is generally considered good. A score of 800 or above on the same range is considered to be excellent. Most credit scores fall between 600 and 750.