So you just got paid, but unlike any other payday you decide it’s time to finally make a budget plan. First of all take a minute to silently congratulate yourself. You are already ahead of the game by making that plan. Some people don’t make a budget, thus not really knowing where their money is going. Now, with that being said, you got your plan all made up, can you stick to your budget? Well lucky for you there are some things you can do to help yourself succeed and stick to your budget. Having a budget plan is not only helpful but necessary to show you where you money is going and how much you have left to spend on what. It just keeps things more organized and helps you run the finances a little more smoothly. First lets take a look at why most budget plans fail and go from there.
[Read: Common Budgeting Mistakes]
- Feel deprived of their money. Most people don’t give themselves the opportunity to spend a little on themselves.
- Impulse buying.
- Don’t have a concrete budget plan. There’s room for error.
- Not having a back up fund and end up cutting into budget money.
How Can I Stick To My Budget?
Now that we have went over how budget plans tend to fail we need to go over what you can do to help yourself stick to your budget. There’s lots of tactics you can use to help yourself stick to your budget. The most important thing is to take it seriously. If you make this plan you need to give yourself no excuses to stray away from it. Let’s take a look at some of the things you can do to set yourself up for success.
1. Carry What You Need.
The first thing on this list that might help you stick to your budget is to carry only what you need on you at all times. For those of us with impulse buying issues this is a great way to avoid spending over the budget you have just formulated. Now, this takes careful planning every morning before you leave the house to go to work. Get up a little earlier whole having your coffee go over what bills need to be paid what you will need for gas and everything else that requires money and leave the rest at home. This way there’s absolutely no way you can spend over your budget plan.
2. Be Good To You.
The next tactic that may help you stick to your budget is to be good to yourself every once in a while. Leave a little extra money in there to grab that cup of coffee you look forward to every morning. This way you won’t feel so deprived and give up on the budget before you even begin. Make some room to budget yourself in there and you most likely will stick to your budget.
3. Pay Bills First.
One of the most important things you should do to stick to your budget is pay all of your bills first. This way if you do slip and buy something on impulse atleast you won’t have to worry about not being able to pay the bills. If you pay your bills as soon as possible the most important part of the budget is taken care of. That burden is gone, well until the first of the month comes around I guess.
4. Think On It.
Okay so you find this beautiful couch, it’s on sale at the local furniture store and you need a new couch and have been looking for a while. Okay, stop right there, walk away and think about the purchase for a while. Often times when you force yourself to walk away from buying something you don’t regret making that decision. Our later find that purchase wasn’t as good as it sounded at the time. But if you have taken some time to think about it and you decide it’s a good buy, take some time to put that item into your budget plan. This way out will avoid impulse buying.
[Read: Affordable Travel Tips That Can Help Minimize Your Vacation Budget]
5. Set Money Aside.
To succeed and stick to your budget it’s always a good idea to set aside some extra money in case of an emergency, or you need something at the last minute. Let’s face it, no matter how hard we try to be prepared we always have to expect the unexpected and part of that means setting aside extra money so when something does go wrong you aren’t completely broke afterwords. Maybe take out twenty dollars, that will buy a small package of diapers in case you run out and have already been to the grocery store. You can never be too prepared, you won’t regret it when you do need something at the last minute and you don’t have to dig into the money you already have budgeted out for other necessities.