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If you think of your finances as a house, then your budget is the foundation. A budget is a detailed plan for spending, saving and repaying debt if you have credit cards or loans you’re trying to pay off.
But making a budget and actually living by it are two different things. It’s relatively easy to create a budget plan outlining how much income you have for the month versus what you anticipate spending. The difficult part is adhering to the plan, day in and day out.
Creating a realistic budget means carefully reviewing the numbers, but it’s just as important to consider your financial habits and goals. These tips can help you get in tune with your budget so that it’s working for you, not against you.
Sticking to a budget can feel restrictive and challenging at times. You may find yourself tempted to overspend on dining out, shopping sprees, travel and more. However, developing smart money habits and financial discipline ultimately pays off. You can enjoy more financial freedom and reach your savings goals faster.
Follow these 15 tips to stay on budget without feeling deprived
Sleep on Big Purchases
When you feel tempted to buy something outside of your budget, wait a week before deciding. Take time to think through the purchase and determine if it aligns with your financial goals or if it’s just a want. Chances are, the urge will pass and you’ll realize you don’t need it after all.
Impulse purchases can quickly blow your budget. Sleeping on a big purchase gives you time to make a rational decision. If it’s something you really want, you can plan for it in next month’s budget.
Stick to Your Limits
One of the easiest ways to overspend is having credit cards with high limits. It’s tempting to justify purchases since you have available credit. However, that available balance isn’t unlimited spending money.
Call your credit card companies and lower your limits. This simple act makes you more conscious of what you’re charging. Only spend what you budgeted for each month and pay balances in full.
Budget to Zero
Give every dollar you earn a purpose instead of budgeting what’s left after spending. List all of your expenses first, including savings, then budget what remains for flexible spending
Knowing all your regular bills and savings are covered prevents overspending. When you want to buy something, check if you have funds remaining in that category. Otherwise, wait until next month’s budget.
Try a No Spend Challenge
Pick a week each month to have a no spend challenge. Avoid non-essential purchases like dining out, entertainment, shopping trips, etc. Stick to necessities like gas and groceries.
No spend challenges build your willpower and reset your spending habits. They help curb impulse purchases and make you think twice about every transaction.
Stop Paying Avoidable Fees
Small fees add up quickly, from ATM charges to late bill payments Identify unnecessary fees and eliminate them
Pack snacks and a refillable water bottle instead of buying convenience store drinks and snacks. Choose a bank with widespread ATMs or use cash back at retailers to avoid ATM fees. Setup autopay on bills to avoid late fees. Every dollar counts when you’re on a budget.
Meal Plan to Reduce Food Waste
Food is often one of the top expenses. Meal planning is essential to stick to your grocery budget and reduce food waste. Make a meal plan each week before shopping and only buy what you need for those recipes.
Cook extra portions for leftovers so you’re not tempted to eat out when you don’t feel like cooking later in the week. Meal planning takes some effort upfront but saves money in the long run.
Shop Grocery Delivery to Avoid Impulse Buys
Grocery delivery services can help you avoid impulse purchases. Skip aisles filled with cookies, chips and other temptations. You’re less likely to throw extra items in your cart when shopping online.
Make your list ahead of time and resist the urge to browse. You can still take advantage of digital coupons and sales when using grocery delivery. The convenience is worth the small delivery fee to stick to your meal plan.
Have Fun for Free
You don’t have to spend a lot to enjoy quality time with friends and family. Spend a day outdoors hiking or packing a picnic in the park. Host game nights or movie marathons at home instead of going to bars or the theater. Explore free museums and festivals in your community.
Finding entertainment that doesn’t require spending supports your budget. Bonus points if it gets you away from the temptation of the mall or shopping while hanging out.
Learn to DIY
From home projects to gifts, teach yourself DIY skills to save money. Sites like YouTube have endless tutorials for everything from home decor to car repair.
DIY is also a budget-friendly way to get creative making personalized gifts like photo books or handknit scarves. You gain a sense of accomplishment while avoiding store prices.
Set Specific Savings Goals
Keep yourself motivated to save with clear goals like an emergency fund, vacation, home down payment, etc. Calculate how much you need to save each month to reach the target and make it a line item in your budget.
Watching that savings account grow keeps you focused. Before you spend, ask yourself if buying something will delay reaching your goal. Goals have more meaning when you assign savings to them.
Have a Side Hustle
Use extra time outside your 9 to 5 job to earn additional income. Ideas include driving for a rideshare app, tutoring skills you have, doing freelance writing/design/programming, selling handmade goods, etc.
Having a side hustle brings in cash to put towards your savings goals, debt payments or next month’s budget shortfalls. Even earning an extra few hundred per month makes a noticeable difference.
Avoid Sales and Shopping Just for Fun
It’s easy to get lured into purchases from flash sales, coupon mailers and more. Unsubscribe from brand emails and avoid just browsing stores if you find sales tempt you. Don’t shop just to kill time.
Shop with intention buying only what you need. Make a list and don’t stray from it. Stay strong and leave if you get tempted by an unplanned purchase. Remember, saving that money helps you more.
Sell What You Don’t Need
Clean out your closet, garage and other spaces to identify belongings you no longer want. Sell them online via sites like Facebook Marketplace and Nextdoor. You can also check for local consignment shops or used bookstores.
Turn your clutter into cash to add to your budget. Getting rid of excess stuff in your home also helps prevent new impulse purchases. After all, you need to make space for your next great deal!
Negotiate Your Bills
You may be able to get a discount on monthly bills like cable, internet, cell phone plans, insurance, gym memberships and more. Simply call customer service and request they review your plan for ways to save money.
If you’ve been a loyal customer for awhile with no late payments, companies will often provide a break on your bill or waive fees. All you have to do is kindly ask.
Give Up a Bad Habit
Addictions like morning lattes, happy hour drinks, cigarettes, etc. can severely eat at your budget. Try giving up or cutting back on one expensive habit.
Even reducing your Starbucks from 5 days a week to 2 saves $50+ per month. Over time eliminating that daily habit saves you hundreds annually. Break the addiction so your money can be spent on necessities and goals.
Staying on budget requires carefully planning your spending, practicing delayed gratification and making mindful choices about where your money goes. Use these 15 tips to help curb impulse spending and prevent budget busting. With commitment, you can achieve your financial goals and enjoy lasting benefits from improved money management skills.
Use Tools That Make Living Your Budget Easier
As you work toward bringing your lifestyle and budget in harmony, consider what personal finance tools you can use to smooth the path.
For example, you may want to use a budgeting app to track your spending and income automatically. This saves you the trouble of crunching the numbers, which means you can take your budget with you anywhere you go.
If saving money is one area you’ve struggled with within your budget, you can also use automatic saving and investing apps to commit to setting aside cash regularly. Debt repayment apps can help you stay on track with paying off student loans, credit cards or other debts. And some personal finance apps allow you to manage budgeting, saving, debt and investing all in one place to simplify things even further.
Using banking and personal finance apps can take some of the stress out of managing your money each month. The more you can simplify the thought process that goes into creating a budget, the easier it may be to follow through on the plan.
Examine Your Money Habits
Regardless of how much time you spend making a budget each month, it won’t work if it conflicts with your actual spending or financial habits. If you haven’t taken a close look at how you spend lately, you could be self-sabotaging your budgeting efforts without even realizing it.
This can take different forms and, frequently, it’s smaller things rather than big ones that end up wrecking your budget plans. Things that can work against you include:
- Making small but frequent impulse purchases
- Shopping your feelings (also referred to as retail therapy)
- Paying bills late, which can lead to late fees
- Overlooking recurring charges on your bank or credit card statements
- Failing to plan for expenses that occur quarterly, biannually or annually
Tracking your spending and keeping a spending diary can help you identify the first two bad money habits on the list. Writing down each time you make an unplanned purchase or describing what you felt on a recent shopping binge may be uncomfortable, but it’s important for addressing those bad habits that may be hurting your budget.
How to Budget as a FREE SPIRIT | clean up your spending habits and stay on budget!!
How can I Stay on a budget?
But you could still use some help staying on budget. Here are some tips that can help you stick to your budget and get ahead on that major purchase: Determine the amount of your budget that you can afford to save each month. Have it direct-deposited to your savings account, or to your mutual fund.
How do you stick to a budget every month?
Sticking to the budget is showing your money you’re in charge. There are tons of tips and tricks to sticking to your budget every month. But following “tons” of suggestions is hard. So, we narrowed it down to eight of the best. 1. Keep it real. Have you ever made a goal that totally set you up for failure?
Why should you keep on a budget?
Keeping on budget can make your entire life run more smoothly, since so many things are affected by your financial status. For more information on budgets, saving money and related topics, see the links on the following page. If you’re one of the many who have no idea how to balance a checkbook, you may get a little nervous about learning how.
How can simple budgeting tips make your financial life easier?
Simple budgeting tips can make your financial life easier. Some advice: Find the right method, prioritize expenses and automate your finances.
