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You spend hours writing out a budget, painstakingly noting all your expenses and income down to the last penny. It’s absolute perfection, you will never go over your budget again.
You start off strong, you’re determined that this is the time it’s going to work for you. And then a week or so later, you’ve either forgotten about it or else given up.
Sound familiar?
I hope so, otherwise I’m the only one in the world that this has happened to, and honestly, it’s happened a lot! A few years ago I created a budgeting system that actually works for me but, ya’ll it’s still hard sometimes to stay on a budget.
Even though it’s hard, there’s a few tips I’ve found that make it easier for me to manage my money, instead of looking back at the end of the month and wondering where it all went. So here we go, my top five tips to help you stay on budget!
1. Write a budget
Ya’ll, I know, this is super obvious. But you can’t stay on a budget if you don’t have any idea what your budget is.
Write it out. List out all your expenses and all of your income and make a plan. Figure out how you want to spend your money before you spend it.
This is the first step to actually taking control of your money and I know it can be a scary one. When you’ve been coasting along not really paying attention to your money situation it can be absolutely terrifying to sit down and realize just how bad your financial situation is.
Use your twenty seconds of courage and do it anyways. Instead of getting overwhelmed, let that fear propel you to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of the hole you’re in and get on the path to financial freedom. It’s a hard path, not going to lie, but it is so, so worth it.
2. Post your budget where you can see it
The next thing you need to do is to put it where you can keep track of it easily. For some people this will mean printing it out and keeping it on the fridge. For us, it works well to have an Excel file with our budget in it. I’m on my laptop a lot and I take it with me whenever I travel, so it is always accessible.
Also, since we are a blended family, I prefer to keep our finances a bit more private. It just cuts down on drama that way.
However, if you know that printing or writing your monthly budget and putting it on the fridge will help your family stay on track, do it! If a google docs file you can access on your phone works for you, then do that. Either way, it should be someplace you can easily access it.
A word of caution though.
There are a lot of apps that will track your spending and they absolutely have their place. But, they don’t replace a budget. Too often tracking apps turn into ‘let’s see where we spent our money’ instead of a way to tell your money where to go. The whole point of a budget is to decide where and how you’re going to spend your money and then put it there.
3. Stay home or find free entertainment
I know, not the most fun tip on this list, but it is so effective!
If you aren’t out and about, you won’t be spending money on the drive through. There are loads of fun, free things you can do at home. Instead of going to the theater, pop some popcorn and watch a movie on Netflix. If you have a dog, find a free trick training video on the internet and work on that for a while.
When you absolutely have to get out of the house, take your kids on a nature walk around your neighborhood or go to the park. A lot of communities have free splash pads that are fun for younger kids. Look around, there’s a ton of stuff you can find to do for cheap or free in even the smallest communities.
I’ve lived places where there was only a few thousand people, trust me when I say that you can find things to do for fun. I’ve taken kids to the creek to wade (free!) instead of going to the swimming pool. In the winter, make snow forts and then have a snowball battle. Or play board games! The options really are limitless.
4. Stock your pantry
This has been hands down the biggest factor in staying on budget for groceries. Having a fully stocked pantry will allow you to shop sales for your essentials.
I have a super simple method that I used to stock my own pantry without blowing my budget and I’m sure you’ll love it too. You can read all about it and get tips to make stocking your pantry easy and affordable HERE.
5. Avoid triggers
Triggers are the things you can’t help but spend money on. Ya’ll know what I’m talking about. For me, it’s totally eating out. I love, love going to restaurants. For you it might be shoes, kids’ clothes, or books.
I avoid my trigger by putting something in the crockpot on days when I know I’ll be in town around dinner time. If I know I already cooked something and it’ll be ready as soon as I get home, then I won’t stop and get dinner.
If you love to buy books, make it a point to go to the library weekly. If you’re a shop-a-holic, stay out of the stores that tempt you to spend all your money.
There you go! My top five tips for staying on budget. These tips won’t do the work for you, but they will help you navigate some of the roadblocks that seem to always throw you off course. By implementing these tips, you can help to reduce the amount of willpower you have to use to stay on budget and to accomplish your money goals.
What are your favorite tips to avoid blowing your budget? Comment and share below!
