Who likes to talk about their budget? Yikes! I know that I am not the only one who dislikes to talk about budget or look at their finances unless there is money in the bank to shop with. Am I right? But there is a secret to how to maintain your budget. Let me start by saying that I am not a financial expert but I do have a simple solution to help you create and maintain your budget. So, if you are interested, stay with me.
Know Your Bills
You got to know your bills to know where your money is going to. So write it down along with the money that is coming it. Why are you writing this down? It is going to be an eye-opener for you. I kid you not. When you take the time to write down your bills, you can see what is taking up too much money. You can grab this free bills printable in my free resource library!
Revaluate Your Decisions
This simple process of writing out your bills was mind-blowing when I saw things that I didn’t really need that I was still paying for. It helped me revaluated my decisions. It motivated me to call up the company and cancel these things. In result, I was able to knock off $111 just because I could see what I was paying for and realize that I didn’t need it. It was no longer hidden in with everything else.
Be a Negotiator
I want you to take a moment and think about something. Have you seen a commercial about a company you are with and think “Man I wish I could have gotten that deal“? News flash, you can! One thing you should aim to do is negotiate your bills.
Be a negotiator so that you are getting the very best deal for yourself. Companies are constantly having sales and promotions so ask for the. Places you should call up at least yearly is your car insurance, home insurance and cable bills. This can save you money!
Know your Debts
Look at your debt. I know that can be scary. No one likes to look at their debts because it is such a burden. Plus it doesn’t make you feel that great. Even though it can be daunting to see all your debts, I want you to start with the smallest one first.
Why? You will feel like you are actually getting rid of your debt when you do this. Knocking off the smallest debt first will give you that feeling of accomplishment of actually concurring your debt. Plus the bonus of giving you the motivation to keep going.
What Are Your Key Problems
We all have key spending problems. Have you noticed yours? It can be anything from eating out, online shopping to well anything. If you are buying too much of it then it is going to be a problem. So I think most of us can agree that we like to spend our money eating out. Yes, I am calling you out, daily fancy coffee drinkers and everyone who loves to snag Skip the Dishes and Uber Eats on the regular. It is easy to do this don’t get me wrong, I do this too. After all, it is convenient and easy but it can get addicting.
If you don’t think you are spending much on take-out or morning coffees. I bet it is more than you think. Want to take the challenge? I want you to go on your bank statement for last month, print it out if possible, highlight all of your food purchases (excluding grocery related) and calculate all of it. It will just blow your mind how much it really adds up to.
One thing that helps a lot in solving the problem is decreasing your key problems. Think of what you can do that will save you money in the long haul. What can you do to solve this problem of making dinners or lunches? You would be amazed at how much money you save just by reducing the amount of money you spend eating out.
Try prepping ahead of time, making your coffee at home by scooping it into your travel mug the night before. Making lunches or dinner for the week or two weeks if you can.
Set A Budget
Based on all the knowledge you have learned about yourself and your family, you can make a budget that fits your life and your lifestyle. Break them down into categories from what you want to spend for groceries, gas and entertainment.
Also, write a goal that you want to achieve such as saving money for a vacation or getting yourself a car. By also including your goal into your budget you will be able to remember why you started this budget in the first place and save money towards it. You can grab this free my monthly budget printable in my free resource library!Â
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, your budget is only yours and your family’s. You can only budget for yourself and your family, it’s not for anyone else. It won’t be the same as your neighbour or your best friend so please don’t compare because everyone circumstances and life are completely different. You know your bills, what you need to reevaluate on, your debts and your key problems. Once we see what needs to be fixed, we can make the appropriate changes.
Related:Â Furnishing Your Home on a Budget
[…] we can have more time to go after our goals and get to where were want to be. If we organize and create a budget, we can save up for our dream home, dream car or dream vacation. So, we need to know ourselves to […]