Budgets are a necessary evil…inside and outside of college. Some things to remember (and some suggestions) when doing your budgets... 1. Review how you spent money over the past year…make sure you know where your chapter money has been going. 2. If you must estimate the cost of an item or an event, always estimate high. 3. Beware of “luxuries” disguised as “necessities.” Mixers every Saturday night become more of a luxury than fulfilling the need of maintaining social and interGreek relations! 4. Use your Budget Workbook, it's an excellent tool. 5. You should not be budgeting for events that may contain alcohol (e.g., formals, mixers) 6. Give yourself a financial cushion for the year. What you don’t end up spending, donate to the foundation or put toward your senior ceremony. 7. Don't forget that you'll be doing some fundraising and that will bring in money for "extras.” Set a fundraising goal...putting it in your budget will motivate you to ensure that the chapter raises the funds. 8. Budget in a donation to the Foundation, S. June Smith, or Special Olympics. 9. Each officer is a "subgroup" and has part of a budget. It is important that each officer sticks to their budget contract. 10. Some big things to make sure you have in your budget: - Recruitment materials - Convention / LDI costs for your delegate(s) (travel, food, etc.) - District Day costs 11. Always remember to plan for members who will graduate and determine an estimated number of how many members you will gain through recruitment each semester. 12. To work around unexpected losses and economical inflation, you should increase your budget by $5-$10 per member each year. 13. Your budget should not look exactly the same as it did last year. Change happens! Figure out where you ran out of money and where you had money left over.