When money is tight, the very first step is to become extremely honest with yourself. You have to lay it all out so you can see it at once. I recommend building a budget based on your last full month.
First, create 4-5 spending categories into which you’ll lump every transaction for the month.
- Transportation category would include gas, tolls, car washes, etc.
- Dining Out would include lunches at work, dinner with friends, even vending machine purchases, pretty much anything that isn’t Groceries.
- Groceries can cover all your household needs, including food, cleaning supplies, hygiene items, and routine clothing purchases like replacing socks and underwear.
- Entertainment is another catch-all, to include trips to the movies, concert tickets, even books and videogames and movie rentals.
- One-Time Purchases: You might have some items that don’t fit into a category, such as a once-a-year oil change that will mess up your Transportation budget, or perhaps a shopping spree for a wardrobe upgrade due to a new job. Those items would be set aside as One-Time Purchases, and you will begin planning for these in your budget in the future.
After you create your categories, go through your transaction history for all your accounts, write down every bill, its amount and its due date, even little things like Netflix and Spotify. This part is crucial for tight budgets, we don’t want you to lose money to overdraft fees or late fees.
This might be easier if your bank website allows you to export transaction histories to an excel document, or you might be able to copy and paste them over.
Once you categorize your expenses you will finally see where all your money is going each month. If Dining Out is particularly high, and you don’t feel that it is justified, you can start looking for ways to reduce those costs. Buying a soda every afternoon at work? Instead of spending $1.60 every day, go buy a 24pack at the grocery store and start bringing one with you. Or, maybe you tend to spend too much every time you go to a restaurant, you can practice ordering water instead of expensive alcohol or just being more conscious of the prices of each dish, drink, appetiser, etc. Or perhaps you could make that steak just as delicious at home, for a third of the cost?
Why would you want to reduce your spending in any given category? Because of your goals! Sit down and think about the things you want in life. Are you salivating over a new car? Or missing family you cant afford to visit? Perhaps you’re drowning in debt and you just want to take back control of your life? These are what we budget for.
Every dollar you reduce from your bills and spending can go toward your financial goals. You can set up a named savings account with your bank, and be as specific as possible. Emergency Fund $1000 by August 2020 is going to be WAY more motivating than Savings Account ****2236. This applies to every savings goal, and I highly recommend separate accounts for each goal. You should do one at a time, fill your Emergency fund first, then think about which goal you would like to focus on next. Check out this article to help determine how much you should be saving.
If you are working on repaying debt, I highly recommend using one of these debt repayment plans. When you are consistently using your budget, you can set every extra dollar toward these goals and you’ll reach them faster than you would have imagined.
Note, if you are currently using a credit card to make ends meet, I understand! Sometimes, we go through rough phases in life and you should not feel ashamed of how you cope with them. I would love to sit down with you and see if I can suggest any ways to reduce your expenses so you can find more space in your budget.
Building budgets and teaching clients how to achieve financial stability is my favorite thing to do. If you have tried building budgets before, and never been able to stick to one for more than a month, give me a call! I would love to talk with you and see if we can set up a plan that will put you on track for a stress-free financial future. You can set up a free consultation with me here!