Poundsandpence

You’ve started a budget and now reality is setting in that this might not be as easy as you thought to stay faithful to it. 

Starting a new budget requires developing new money habits which, for many, is a hard battle.  Speaking from personal experience, can be an ongoing challenge. 

Being committed to a budget takes real determination, dedication and careful planning for you to do this successfully.

Before we get started – have you started a budget? If not, take a read through my post on budgeting for beginners for some great tips!

How can you stay focused on your new budget?

I’ve listed my top tips to help you to stick to your budget and feel in control of your money!

Advance Planning

Planning is so important to actually stay on track of your budget.

When you don’t take the time to plan out how your money will be used advance, it increases the chances of you making the same mistakes you made before you started budgeting.

I have more success in sticking to my budget when I give myself time to plan for the following month.

At least a week or two before the next payday you can prepare for upcoming costs. This will help you to get your mind ready for when payday comes. 

Make it a habit to think about all the upcoming costs that will need to be taken into account. This may include making adjustments such as extra payments on recurring bills.

Also, its good to consider how you will allocate money towards your goals such as savings or paying down debt. 

Once you have all these areas in place, you actually may find yourself looking forward to payday and actually working your plan.

That empowerment comes from you being in full control, simply by telling your money where to go.

Be ready for the unexpected

How can you be ready for something your not expecting you might ask?

The sensible answer is that some of your money should be going towards a rainy day fund or as I like to call it, an emergency fund.

No one knows what unexpected costs are, else they would be called ‘expected’ costs. 

As life likes to surprise us from time to time, having money for ‘miscellaneous’ or emergency expenses gives a peace of mind that there is an amount of cash available if you need it.

Remember you why you started

Regularly reviewing your goals is such a great way to help you stay motivated and therefore, stick to your budget.

Appreciate the progress you have made up to this point.

Its especially good during those times when you just feel that you can’t do anymore. Perhaps you feel pressure from friends or family to spend on things that are not part of your budget plan at this moment in time. 

When this happens, reflect on the goals you have set. Take time to think about how you will feel towards achieving them, or worse, how will you feel if you don’t achieve them?

If your why is not strong enough then you will find yourself slowly drift back to old spending habits

Regular check-in’s

Take time every week to check in on your budget and the progress you are making. You can do this by looking through your bank account statement. Make sure there are no surprise transactions and that you still have enough for any upcoming payments. 

Keeping a track of your money helps you to know if you need to make any adjustments so that you can stay on track to meeting your goals.

Having a budget shouldn’t restrict you. A budget is a useful tool because it helps you to stay in control of your money. Therefore, you tell it where to go, rather than watching it just disappear.

It’s empowering to know that costs like go for a meal or shopping or on holiday are accounted for.

I would love to hear your tips on what else helps you to stay on track with your budget.

Share your comments below and I would love to connect

 

It is amazing to know that so many people do not view budgeting as a priority and they hold back from managing their finances. There is a quiet fear of facing the reality of their financial situation.

Does the thought of checking your bank balance scare you half to death? If so, you are not alone, but the good thing is, you can overcome the fear.

Knowledge is most definitely power. If you have never learned how to budget or manage your finances, it is not too late.

Yes, I’m sure it might be more fun to use the debit card blindly, secretly hoping it doesn’t decline at the cash register, but imagine actually knowing that every single penny you are spending has been allocated for a specific reason.

Budgeting does not have to be a negative or even a boring thing to do. In fact, it can be quite the opposite.

What are the benefits of starting a budget?

For me, when I realised how much money I actually had vs how much I spent on small insignificant purchases was a real eye opener.

It was only after I took the time to look at what I was spending and understand where it was going that I realised I could do so much more with my money.

These are some of the things that having a budget has helped me personally to achieve include:

• Paying off a bank loan in four months
• Saving an emergency fund in three months
• Investing in my handmade business
• Starting this very blog

What could you accomplish if you were to start a budget?

Other benefits of learning to budget my money included taking control of my life.

When you budget, you are no longer ruled by the circumstances of life. No more worrying about how to pay that unexpected bill, just because you had a plan in place and you kept to it.

Self-confidence is very closely linked with your finances. Believe it or not, your money, or more specifically how you view your money, can have an effect of how you feel within yourself. That could be whether you view yourself as a success or less than that can depend on how good you are at managing it.

It takes a high level of self-control to be able to keep your money in check but I truly believe that anyone can make a difference to theirfinances, if they truly want to.

What does budgeting NOT mean?

The misconceptions around having a budget can mean that you have no fun whatsoever.

I am here to say, that is definitely not the case.

You can have fun, and actually it is guilt free fun because you know you have put funds aside for that purpose.

While it might be perceived to be the norm that you have to pick and choose between having fun and being financially sensible, there is a fine balance for you to do both.

Budgeting does not and should not be a rigid exercise where it is all about focusing on bills etc. That just means you won’t enjoy life at all, which is unrealistic and ultimately, you will just go back to old habits.

Having control over your money means being able to allocate what is needed to ensure the essential bills are paid, you can have fun and plan for your future at the same time.

 

How can you get started with your budget?

Change your mindset

In order to take control of your budget and your finances, it has to start with a commitment in your mind and a willingness to build new habits.

Positive thinking will help towards making your new financial journey worthwhile

Develop a clear focused mindset towards how this will make a difference to you and your circumstances. This is an opportunity for you to grow as an individual and improve your financial future.

Keep in mind that any improvements you want to see will take time, and there will be obstacles along the way.

Check out my post where I share tips on how you can stay committed to your new budget to keep you on track.

Understand where your money is going

Its time to face you fears, and by fears I mean – your bank balance.

There is no getting away from this. If you are serious about starting to budget your money, then you have to know exactly where you money is coming from and where it is being spent.

I highly recommend taking a look through previous bank statements, if necessary, print them off and go through all the costs that can be classed as ‘wants’  and not vital expenses. 

I mean, how many takeouts did you have over the course of the month, or buying coffees here and there. The random cash withdrawals that you have no idea where the money went. Add up these expenses, the amount might shock you.

This exercise is a massive revelation to understanding how and where you can cut back on overspending and inspire thinking on where you can put that money to good use.

The phrase ‘I have no money’ is no longer valid here. There money is there, its just being used differently.

Budgeting encourages you to think and act differently. The more understanding you have towards your finances, the easier it will be for you to know what you can actually do with it going forward.

Set some money goals

Once you know how much money you have to play around with after budgeting it out, now you can start thinking seriously about what you want to do with what is remaining.

There may be some pressing things that need to be taken care of i.e. paying off your debt.

Setting goals is a step to help you maintain focus. You finally have a purpose for not wanting to spend impulsively.

It’s an exciting feeling to actually sit down and plan out the next few months.

Where could you be financially,  in a year’s time or even six months from now?

Think about this, if you saved £200 a month over the course of a year, that amounts to £2400. For some people, that is a loan or credit card or can mean a starter emergency fund.

Perhaps your goal is to increase your income with a new job or starting your own business. Think about how much you can realistically invest to make that happen.

Regardless of what you want to do with your money, having goals makes the plan a lot easier to achieve. I suggest writing down your main big goals. From there, you can then break them down into smaller and more manageable milestones that you can work towards over time.

This is important – make sure you celebrate your successes!

Like I said before, budgeting does not have to be rigid or scary, so when you reach a milestone, celebrate it! Share it with your friends, plan something fun or treat yourself.

You want to feel good about making those small wins because they amount to the big wins eventually. Ultimately it will push you to move on to the next goal on the list.

Decide on a method to actually manage your money

There are lots of different ways of how you can choose to manage your money alongside your budget.

You can have your budget plan down on paper, but how will you implement it?

There are various methods that people use, such as the cash envelope system. Another way might be to have two bank accounts linked together and use one strictly for bills and other for ‘general expenses’ .

However you decide to manage your money is down to what is more comfortable for you.

The cash method is traditionally a successful way due to the  psychological effect it has on people. With cash, you physically watch your money decline which makes you more aware of what you’re spending it on vs when you make payments using  a debit card, you do not actually watch your bank balance decline.

Its ultimately a choice that you have to make, accordingly to what feels more comfortable.

Believe me when i say, i know the struggle of sticking to a new budget. I also know the feeling of accomplishment knowing that you stayed on target and even more so when you hit your goals! 

Its empowering and I truly want you to feel the same about your money!

It really does not matter if you have a little or a lot of money to play around with. The key is how you manage your money every single day.

It’s time to start enjoying your money and make it work for you rather than the other way round.

Don’t forget to check out my tips on how to stay committed to your budget!


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