How to build the budget and cash-flow slide
Start with after-tax income
The budget has to work on take-home pay, not gross salary. If take-home pay is provided, use it. If it is missing, state your assumption and be conservative.
Separate fixed, variable, and goal spending
| Bucket | Examples | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | Rent, mortgage, car payment, insurance premiums, minimum debt payments | Harder to change quickly. |
| Variable | Groceries, gas, eating out, entertainment | Often funds the first round of recommendations. |
| Goals | Emergency fund, retirement, college, car replacement | Needs automatic transfers and clear targets. |
Find the surplus
If the case does not list every expense, build a reasonable placeholder budget. Judges usually want to see that you noticed the missing information and made disciplined assumptions.
Use the budget to fund the plan
Every recommendation should name its funding source. A plan that requires $800 per month but only finds $150 of surplus is not credible.