For most people, living on a budget is necessary but difficult. Sometimes we can feel deprived or guilty for spending money on a small treat, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Here are tips for making budget living easier.
Keep Track
If you can make note of all your expenses on an excel sheet or an accounting program like Quicken, you can start to see a pattern of where your money is going, and you’ll notice how much the small purchases add up at the end of the month! You can make changes based on what isn’t necessary and find cheaper options for them!
Allow Yourself a Treat! – Tips for Making Budget Living Easier
If you’re expecting yourself to cut down on buying coffee and a snack every morning, you need some motivation, right? Well, why don’t you promise yourself that at the end of every fortnight or month, the money you saved on these smaller things can go toward something for yourself, be it a trip to the cinema, a dinner, or a bit of a shopping spree, the motivation of what you can use that money on will definitely help motivate you!
Stick to Cash
We’re all guilty of overspending a bit on our credit cards. It’s almost like it’s not real money that you’re spending but that’s the problem! If you take out a certain amount of cash at the beginning of the week and challenge yourself to only spend that, you’ll soon stop with frivolities. Spending hard cash has a lot more of a psychological effect on us so try to avoid credit card use unless it’s actually necessary. And if you need to pay a bill, just do it in full. First of all, it’s better for your credit rating, and it means that you know your checking account balance is the money you physically have.
Allow for Unexpected Expenses – Tips for Making Budget Living Easier
There are always going to be times when the car breaks down, or the washing machine kicks the bucket, so we need to be prepared for these. You don’t want to have to dip into your savings to fix these things so try to always have a little bit left in your account that can cover these costs painlessly. There’s nothing worse than your hard-earned savings being thrown away on something you don’t want!
These budgeting tips should help you out a bit but if you’re still finding it hard to make ends meet, you should speak to a financial adviser and devise a plan that is unique to your income and your situation.
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