Simply writing down your current expenses on a record and adding them up does not conclude the creation and implementation of a budget. You may be overspending in categories and need to change your budget to accommodate your “debt load” (or expenses) or to better get closer to more ambitious financial goals. Sitting down and taking a hard look at your current situation is only the beginning of budgeting. Once you’ve written down spending and seen where you can improve, you need to give yourself new “guidelines” for spending in those categories and then the hard part, strictly enforcing them. Here are my top tips for taking your budget from paper to action.
Trade bills you thought were set in stone
Go a step further and review bills that once seemed set in stone. Can you change insurance companies or change your coverage? Adjust your phone plan? Negotiate a better interest rate on your credit card? Talk about your cable/internet package? Or give up a service entirely? Every year in Las Vegas, our rent goes up $60-100.00. After our first son and my then-fiancé finished their master’s degrees, I encouraged him to call the corporate office of our apartment and ask them not to raise the rent so we could get through that year, or we would be forced to find a less expensive one. . place to live. They met us in the middle and just raised our rent by $30.00. If you don’t ask, you don’t receive. The better you can deal with awkward situations like this, the easier it will become and the more financially secure you will be!
Brainstorm a list of ways you can save even more
Where it seems difficult at first to give up luxuries that feel like necessities, you can get excited about “cutting the fat.” Make a list of even the smallest ways you can reduce your production dollars. Can you buy at a grocery store at a better price? With additional gas rewards? Can you buy some of your personal care items at Dollar Tree instead of Target? Can you go to a less expensive salon? Buy some things online? Sometimes you need to avoid certain people and places that encourage your uncontrolled spending, and you may need to find solutions to put them in their place. Saving money is like a muscle that needs to be exercised to become stronger.
Pound, Pound, Pound
During your “strength training” budgeting phase, you’ll want to track not only your checkbook spending, but ALL of your spending. This is the beginning of turning your budget on paper into action. You must be held accountable if you are going to see results from this budget effort. Spending is like overeating without realizing it, but when you track your diet, you’re faced with your choices.
You can create a simple spreadsheet for this purpose with the date, merchant, purchase description, and payment method.
Your budget must be equal to zero
If you live on little income or expenses that are largely out of your control, such as having dependents, it may take a few weeks or months for your budget to “break even.” The balanced budget means that your expenses and income are equal (0) or your income is more (+). If you have a surplus, you can start thinking about how you can best save or invest that money for a more secure and abundant future.
