Do your finances seem to be always out of your control? Are you spending too much on credit cards or other lines of credit? Do you struggle in keeping a balance with your spending and savings? If any one or more of these circumstances describe your financial situation, maintaining a budget in place may support you. Creating a solid budget and sticking to it are the very first steps leading to your financial freedom.
Although budgets tend to be great in action, they are hard in theory. If you are not sure where to start on a budget, you aren’t alone. Whether you have never created a budget in your life or are just having trouble sticking to one, you can create a budget you can stick with. Here are seven ways to create a budget you can stick with.
Set Lofty Financial Goals
When setting up a budget, the first thing to remember is that you shouldn’t center around what you are giving up but rather focus on your financial goals. Identify why you are creating a budget and keep those reasons at the forefront of your mind as you create your budget. Whether it is your retirement, a large purchase, or you want to have better control over your finances, your reasons for creating a budget should always be on your mind.
Identify All Spending
Before creating a budget, you should know how much you spend every month on various items. And to determine this, you have to identify your budget baseline simply by tracking your spending. You can track your real-time spending for a week or a month, depending on how much time it takes for you to identify all of your spendings. You can also go through your recent bank statements of the last three to six months or more to figure out your costs for utilities, food, groceries, housing, transportation, etc. This process allows you to identify areas where you overspend or are not making ends meet. Therefore, you become more aware of your saving patterns, helping you make better financial decisions.
Make the Most of Technology
Technology has made things far easier than most people know. If you have never made any budget before, are unsure where to begin your budgeting, or get frustrated with complex details, using a smartphone app is a good idea. There are many excellent bookkeeping and budgeting apps and software that can help you with everything short of entering in the amounts.
Make Every Dollar Count
When you are making your budget, you need to make sure every dollar you earn has a purpose. You can allocate a bit towards unexpected purchases like lunch for a friend or extra gas, but you need to make sure every dollar left goes into savings.
Set Reasonable Financial Goals
The more specific financial goals you have, the more motivated and excited you are to save, and the more you are motivated to stick to your goals and, thus, your budget. Your goals could be saving for a dream vacation with your family or a down payment on a new home. It could also be to save for an emergency fund.
Allow for Some Fun
After you focus on your basic needs and financial goals, you should allocate a bit of your budget for fun and entertainment. If your budgeting plan makes your life boring, you are less likely to stick with it. You shouldn’t get bogged down in living to work instead of working to live and enjoy life. Those that balance work, duty, and fun are happy overall and satisfied with their life and able to stick to their budget.
Withdraw and Use Cash
Though there are some limitations on places excepting cash, if you set your allowance to be cash-only and no more spending once it is gone, you can easily stay within your budget. If you have your card and impulse spending is available, you are more likely to spend outside your means if you have the card available than if you are carrying limited cash.
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