I like to think of budgets as a diet for your money. You need to watch every cent, be disciplined and be accountable at the end of the day. Just like diets, budgets can be tough to stick to. But nothing worth having is ever easy! Don’t give up if you have a splurge or a blowout – hey we all do it now and again (even us here at SAHM!). No one is perfect! Here are some tips to get you on the way!
Write it Down!
To be accountable for your spending, first you need to know where it’s going – in plain black and white! That means sitting down with pen and paper or using a spreadsheet to find our your financial position. Think of it like a food diary – you write down what you eat to see where your going wrong – this is exactly the same thing. Be brutally honest. If your not sure – keep every receipt for a fortnight and log them into your budget – you will soon see where that money is going – and once you know where it is going – you can work on how to reduce it ie ‘cutting the fat’.
Set up the following categories:
- Rent/Mortgage Repayments
- Utilities (Electricity, gas, water)
- Phone, Mobile and Internet Expenses
- Insurance (House, Health, Life, Car etc)
- Car, Transportation and Tickets
- Food and Clothing
- Medical
- Entertainment
- Other (debts, gym memberships etc)
- SAVINGS!!!!
Savings are very important. You would have heard of ‘Paying yourself first’ – so true. But decide on the amount after you have completed your budget! Put that money in a separate account that has a good interest rate!
Work Towards a Goal!
If you have never lived by a budget before – this is the easiest way for you to start – have something to work towards. Now it can even be a frivolous thing such as a holiday – but what you will learn on the way will be invaluable. Work out how many weeks you have to pay for your holiday – and work it into your budget. If not a holiday – make it something you really really want – it’s the disciplined saving that you will learn along the way!
Treat Yourself Every So Often!
So you’ve been sticking to your budget for say two whole weeks without a single slip up – schedule yourself a treat. Now don’t let that treat spoil the entire point of saving – make it something small but something you like. A night at the movies or a lovely take-out lunch. Something you can really enjoy that won’t break the bank. By rewarding yourself every so often, it will be easier to stay on the ‘financial diet’.
Make Your Budget Workable!
Be strict on yourself, but not so strict you can’t possibly live or really ‘resent’ the budget. Make it work to fit your lifestyle. Most financial institutions now have a free financial advice service – use it! Or if you have a financially savvy friend that you trust with your financial situation – let them look over your budget and help you out. In fact seek our friends or family that are great with money – and find out what makes them tick. Most people love to talk finance and it’s great to learn from someone that has done it first hand!
Of course living frugally and simply will help your bank account grow faster!
Now It’s Your Turn
Daily Goal: Make a budget. Here some additional resources to assist you:
Download: The 23 Day Frugal Living Challenge Daily Goal Sheet
Connect With The Community: Take a few minutes and head over to the forum. Share your “Frugal Living Daily Goal“, encourage, and support one another.
I keep all of my tickets and mark them in a columned ledger I bought cheap. I even itemize everything. It seems a little tedious, but if I know exactly what groceries I bought, I can track good deals as well as where I need to be more disciplined. It’s also rewarding to me because at the end of the month, I’ll highlight every entry that was not a needed expense or a reward buy. It makes me excited to see a history of my splurges or unneeded buys going down in both quantity and dollars as I just retrain my mind to be more aware.
One key word…discipline! I love it Jordyne:)
I’ve found that the “treat yourself” point is VERY IMPORTANT. My husband and I counsel so many people that just feel like they can’t make it any longer….and we quickly find out they didn’t budget any money for fun. If you don’t count on fun, the road is looooooooooooooong.
Fabulous post. 🙂
So true Stacy! Living frugally is NOT boring:)
My hubs gets paid every week and each week I take out cash for our weekly expenses. I have a little folder with dividers and I divide out the cash: groceries, gas, hub’s lunch (I am still working on him to take his lunch more), and fun. I make sure to put aside cash for “fun” each week, because with 2 small children the occasional Chick-Fil-A lunch or museum trip is definitely needed, as well as date night. 🙂 The rest of hubby’s paycheck goes to bills and savings.
Another vote for cash!!! It’s the only way for us too:)
Hi, I joined the 23 day frugal living challenge and was really excited. But I started receiving the emails and the began on day 17. How can I start at day 1? I can’t find it on your blog… Thanks!
Hi Kate! The all of the posts are under the “Archives” tab:)
I just stumbled on your blog! Love it. Being frugally sustainable is what the husband and I are all about. I’m excited to keep going through your old posts and reading. I’m especially excited for all the sewing/crafting tutorials.
As far as budgeting, we practice a version of what Ali does. I made us some very simple, zippered envelopes: one for groceries, one for gas, one for utilities, one for each of us to put our individual spending money in, etc… Then we take out cash each month and put the right amount into each little envelope. It works really great for us!
I didn’t used to like budgeting, or feel like it was necessary for me (it totally is!), but it was extremely important to my husband who, it turns out, is so incredible with money. So, I played along for about 6 months until it really started to click for me. Then it almost turned into a game of “How can I, as a housewife, cut the household budget to give us more money in other places?” It’s really turned kind of fun for me.
So, I would really encourage those who are afraid that budgeting won’t work for them, or don’t think it’s important, to just try to stick it out and make it work for a few months. You might find out how much you love it!
Thanks for all the awesome content!
Thank you Catie! It’s always nice to meet like-minded people:)
In counseling people about budgets through the last so many years, I have observed that people tend to create budgets for their monthly output, but tend to not overlook things they pay once or a few times during the year. Auto repair, dentist and dr. visits, postage and printer ink, home repair or upgrades, toaster and other appliance replacements, property tax, haircuts, toiletry items, garden and pet items, money spent on gifts for others, yearly subscriptions to magazines, theatre, AAA, etc. When I became a single parent many years ago and had no idea how I would survive financially, I learned to create a budget including all items above. I took items I had to pay yearly and divided them by 12. I added that amount into my monthly budget needs. I created envelopes for each and placed cash in them each month after I got paid (even $3/mo. for $36 yearly AAA payment). It took months for enough money to accumulate in the envelopes, but was I ever grateful when auto servicing happened or property tax was due or something broke in the house or needed fixing….and the money was right there in the envelope. No stress. Hope this will be assistive to some of you…
Andrea, Your posts are always so informative and helpful. Sticking to a budget can really be challenging at times, but thankfully you have great ideas for how to put our money to good use…including savings!
Thank you for this wealth of information. I’m going to start a budget , I need to see where we are financially so I’m able to stay home and homeschool my son. It’s so unfair for me to give my all as a teacher to other people’s children and yet when I get home I have nothing left for my husband or my son because I’m too drained! I feel so guilty…