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You have started your budget, or maybe you need to get started with budget basics, and now you have started to think you might need some adjustments to your spending to match a more balanced financial picture.
After making your list of monthly expenses you likely made some very shocking discoveries. Were you spending more money each month than you thought?
Do not worry if you were because this is quite common.
Not that you have come to this realization it is time for you to begin thinking about if certain changes need to take place. It can be quite easy to feel the need for expensive things that really are not necessary, but challenging yourself to decide a need vs a want, will greatly increase your chances for budget success.
Have you decided to get rid of some of the financial burdens in your life and cut down on others?
Here are some tips that will help in reducing, reconsidering or completely cutting out your expenses.
1. Shop Smart
Look for discounts, coupons, and sales when shopping for groceries and household items. Buy generic brands instead of name brands, and consider purchasing items in bulk to save money in the long run. Use sites like Swagbucks to earn points and gift cards for your grocery and other item purchases.
2. Minimize Transportation Costs
Car payment, insurance and maintenance can eat up such a huge portion of your budget. Cutting down on this expense can make a huge difference for you in the long run. An immediate way to reduce this cost would be by carpooling, using public transportation, or biking whenever possible. Consolidate errands to reduce the number of trips you need to make, saving both time and money on gas.
Sending extra in the monthly payment to pay your car off sooner and holding on to your car as long as you can once it is paid off.
3. Downsize and Declutter
Evaluate your possessions and consider selling or donating items you no longer need or use. Downsizing to a smaller home or apartment can also significantly reduce housing costs, including rent or mortgage payments, utilities, and maintenance expenses. Reducing the clutter around you actually helps your mind to stay clearer as well.
4. Utilize Free Resources
Take advantage of free resources, such as public libraries, community events, and online educational platforms, to enrich your life without spending money.
Reconsider for your money’s sake and stop spending money you don’t have
5. Use Cash
Use cash for discretionary spending categories, such as entertainment or shopping, to limit impulse purchases and stay within your budget.
6. Avoid Credit Cards
Limit credit card use and avoid carrying balances to prevent accruing high-interest debt and overspending beyond your means. Make sure your credit card offers you some kind of point or rewards there are so many out there that do.
7. Practice Delayed Gratification
Delay non-essential purchases and give yourself time to consider whether you truly need or want the item before making a decision. If you are looking for a way to do this, read how to control impulse spending.
8. Limit Social Comparisons
Avoid comparing yourself to others and feeling pressured to keep up with a certain lifestyle, focusing instead on your own financial goals and priorities. This is also applies to family and friends who are not supportive of your desire to change your financial situation.
9. Seek Support
Surround yourself with supportive friends and family members who understand and respect your financial boundaries, avoiding peer pressure to overspend. I also want to offer my support, you let you know you are already on a great path seeking out information to improve your financial situation.
10. Focus on Needs vs. Wants
Differentiate between needs and wants, prioritizing essential expenses like housing, utilities, and groceries over discretionary purchases.
11. Get Rid of Unnecessary Expenses
In today’s society there is pressure to spend money on unnecessary things in order to be able to fit in. Think more about how much better your life will be when you don’t have the stress of worrying about debt or retirement, the pressure will eventually disappear as you see your money grow.
Here are some examples of the things you may not want to go but could live without temporarily till you get your finances in order.
12. Cable TV, Netflix, Disney or any other Movie Provider
You need to ask yourself if this is really a necessity in your life. How much is your bill and how much do you really watch it?
13. Going Out
Limit going out for a while and when you do go out put a spending cap and don’t go over that spending budget.
This doesn’t mean less fun, it just means exchanging high priced restaurants and clubs for bowling or a night out to a pool hall to play a couple games. No matter what your interest are you should be able to find something cheaper to do that will entertain you and keep you inside of the lines of your budget.
14. Eat At Home More
Many people do not realize how expensive it can be to eat out constantly. A few bucks a meal may not seem expensive at the time of your purchase but it definitely adds up quite quickly. You can prepare the same meals you get at restaurants in your own kitchen.
Try my Meal Planning Guide for some great recipes and if you want to learn some of my best Meal Planning tips read Meal Planning Benefits.
Even if you are not great at cooking you can learn, it can be a fun night in. The same meal you can get from a restaurant can be prepared at home for a fraction of the price. This is beneficial for your health as well as your budget. One thing to keep in mind as well is that your health is extremely important for achieving any type of success, including financial success so eat healthy!
15. Cancel Unnecessary Subscriptions
A lot of people sign up for things with the best intentions of reading or watching them and life gets too busy, so if you’re not utilizing the subscription cancel it.
16. Cancel Unnecessary Memberships
Just as with subscriptions, you need to determine if certain memberships are necessary and healthy for your budget. For example, if you pay for a membership to a grocery store like Sam’s Club or Costco but have not been there in quite a while, it is probably a good idea to cancel those memberships.
Also any clubs you’ve joined that you might not have time for any more, especially online clubs or memberships that are no longer relevant for you at the moment.
These are just a few examples of the things that you may have to slow down on or cut out completely to be able to stick to your budget and achieve financial success.
Nobody said that every step of the process of creating a budget would be easy.
I can guarantee you one thing though, it will be beneficial for your life in the long run. It is important to find a way to still leave yourself some joys in life while sticking to a budget.
If you continue to deprive yourself of all the joys in life you will quit your budget and all around just be unhappy. Working without rewards can eventually completely destroy a person’s motivation to do something.
This will likely lead to you abandoning your budget entirely. That would mean that all of the hard work and effort you put into getting this far with your budget would have been for absolutely nothing.
So keep that in mind and always remember that you still need to enjoy life!
Getting Ahead With Finances
Now that you have an idea of how to eliminate some expenses you can compare your income to your outgoing (expenses + bills ).
If you ever plan on getting ahead in life you must make sure that you are pulling in more money than you are spending, although this seems like common sense there is a little more to it.
This doesn’t mean that you make two dollars more a month than your expenses. It means that you should have substantial breathing room because unexpected things happen in life and you may make less money during one month than others.
If you are spending more money each month than you take in you are in a bad spot and you surely know it and can feel the consequences.
It can feel like you are stuck in a black hole with no way out. The power of the hole continues to suck you deeper and deeper until you can no longer see light and can no longer manage your debts.
If you want to start and follow a budget to create a financial success for your life you will likely have to give up certain activities and go without certain things in life for a while.
Ask almost anyone who has achieved financial success and was not just born into a rich family, they will surely tell you that they had to make many sacrifices. You have to determine what is essential in your life and what are just mere desires.
Knowing the difference between the two is extremely important as it will help you to make difficult decisions about your finances in the future. No matter how big the temptation or urge may be it is important not to spend compulsively and to
Start and follow your budget. After all, it was designed and created by you for you.
Take Time to Look Over Your Budget
When you have your complete budget it is important to make a hard copy of it. As a matter of fact you may want to make several hard copies. This is because you need to look over your budget on a regular basis.
This will not only help you to stay on track but it will serve as a motivator as well you help you keep fighting for a better financial future.
It is important to have hard copies of your budget because as time goes on your budget will likely change.
It is important that you look over your budget on a frequent basis. It should really be done every time you have a chance. This is because a hard copy of your budget is very helpful in determining if you are sticking to it or not.
You need to put a copy of your budget in places that you spend a lot of your time.
You may even want to try hanging one on a wall in your room or putting a copy on the front of your refrigerator. One place that you will surely see it every day is if you tape it to your bathroom mirror. While you are getting ready to start your day you will see this budget and it will keep it fresh in your mind.
It may be easy for us to forget some things in our life, especially those things that we don’t really want to remember, such as budgets. Constantly reviewing you budget will make it much more difficult for you to forget about it, intentional or not.
It will be easier for you to avoid impulse spending as well because you will think of your budget while you look at the price tag of a certain object. You will understand that in order to get that object you will have to get rid of other expenses so that you do not go above your budget.
The choice of whether it is worth it or not is up to you.
Another reason that you need to look over your budget as much as possible is to make sure that it does not need to be revised or have changes made to it. As mentioned earlier, you will likely start with a simple budget and move up to a more difficult one. If you do not look over your budget and realize that you are ready to move on to a more difficult one you will be stuck in the same rut forever.
Things change, you may get a new job which offers more or less income so changes to your budget will be necessary.
One thing that you may want to try is to draw a little picture or write out a statement on your budget that describes the reason you are doing it. This will surely keep the benefits of your struggles at the front of your mind and make continuing on with your budget much easier. Remember, much of this process is determination and hard work, without the two you will get nowhere.
Creating and following a budget can be quite difficult; I will not lie to you. It is possible though as long as you stick to your guns and remain strong. As stated before, always keep in mind the benefits that you are receiving from sticking to your budget.
This will surely help to keep you motivated and to continue on with your fight for financial security and success.
If you have difficulties at first with following your budget, do not be discouraged. Most people find it very difficult to follow a budget at the beginning but noticed that it gets easier as time goes by and wallets get fatter.
If you want to achieve financial success you will surely have to give many things up but they will be replaced with a secure future and wealth beyond what you ever imagined you would have.
Most wealthy people did not start out that way. They had to work hard like everyone else to get where they are. Most of them had to make sacrifices to get them to the point that they are at. Ask anyone of them if they spend impulsively, even though they have the money to do so they will likely say no.
This is because it is these types of decisions that got them to the wealth they have in the first place. They understand that what is earned can be spent, and twice as fast.
If you follow your budget it will not be long before you begin to see the results that it will bring. Your life will get better and you will feel less stressed out.
You will be able to enjoy the smaller things in life again and will not be constantly making yourself sick over bills and other expenses anymore.
It will be hard but you can do it, I believe in you!
I hope this information has been helpful for you and I hope you are able to stick to your budget and achieve financial success.
Good luck!
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