You’ve overspent again. Damn, this budgeting stuff is useless, no wonder that only about a third of people have one. And those people are probably lying.
Why is it so difficult to stick to a budget? The only way to get ahead in this world is to have more money. Where am I going to find more money?
Have you heard yourself saying something like that?
Well, the truth is that it’s not about the money you get, it’s about how you allocate it.
The old cliche of “spend less than you earn” is the only true way to get ahead financially and that means getting real about where your money is going. And the best way to do that is to have a good working budget.
So let’s go over some of the ways that make it difficult to budget and how to fix them.
Let’s go.
Budgets Suck! They are Too Restricting and Boring
Ever bring up budgeting to someone and watch their eyes glaze over into a bored stupor? Yeah, I get it.
It’s the word itself that’s the problem. Budget. Shudder. It’s the same with the word diet. It conjures up images of deprivation, going without, becoming a bore.
No-one wants that image of themselves.
It’s probably the way we use it too. “No, I can’t go out to that fab party, I’m on a budget”, “Sorry, it’s too much, over my budget.”
Can’t do it. Not allowed. And so on.
Clearly, this is a mindset issue that needs to be addressed before you can move forward.
If you constantly see a budget as something that prohibits you from living a fun exciting life, then you’ll never stick with one.
How To Fix It
You’ll always rebel and overspend if you’re told you can’t do or have something.
So instead of thinking about what you can’t have, you need to switch it around to something that will motivate you to want to stick to it.
Have you ever noticed that if you’re saving up for something big, like a holiday or a wedding etc, that you seem to be able to reach it easier than simply ‘saving’ for the sake of it?
That’s because you’re focusing on the goal and what you’ll get at the end.
The same can be said for starting a budget. Don’t focus on what you’re giving up, instead focus on what you’ll gain.
Whether that’s saving for something special, getting out of debt, building a stock portfolio. Whatever motivates you to want to stick to a financial plan, that’s what you need to focus on.
Budgets are Too Complicated – How Do You Stick To It?
You downloaded a program that was going to fix all your financial woes. It’s asked you to enter all of these details that you can’t remember.
How much was that round of drinks you shouted your friends last week? What tax rate are you on? Does the Uber trip go under Transportation or Entertainment?
I’ve been guilty of this too—thinking an app or program was going to make things easier when in reality all it’s done is make things far more complicated and in the end, I gave up.
How To Fix It
You need to start simple.
Budgets are not meant to be complicated. They are only meant to be a tool for you to keep track of how much money is coming in, and how much money is going out so you can make decisions about where to allocate your funds.
That’s it.
You can write your budget in a journal, keep a spreadsheet, or use whatever program you like.
You just need to keep it simple and uncomplicated.
For the next month, just track your spending. Every time you spend money then write it down and record it.
I do this weekly. At the end of the week, I’ll go through and enter into a spreadsheet anything I spent and any income I received.
It’s constantly changing as I add more rows or delete categories as I tweak it to work better.
Some things have their own row, some things are lumped into a general category like ‘shopping’.
If you do that for a month or so, you’ll see where you’re money is going and you’ll be able to start planning where to cut back that won’t impact your life much.
Just write it down so you can see. That’s as simple as a budget should be.
I’ll never reach my goals. Why bother?
There is a secret to life that covers everything you want to achieve.
It’s called consistency. Do anything for a long enough period and you’ll be able to change. Exercise, diet, saving, learning, investing, etc.
Stick at it for enough time and you will get you there.
The problem lies that most people give up too early before they’ve seen any real results.
They might try something for a few weeks. Maybe even a few months. And if they don’t see any progress they give up.
If you are serious about your finances then you’re going to have to be consistent.
How To Fix It
This one’s easy. Commit to tracking your income and spending patterns for a full year. Also, commit to paying off one of your debts. Doesn’t matter which one, just focus on one of them.
And while you’re at it. Commit to saving a set amount of money every month. Again, it doesn’t matter how much it is. $50, $200, $1,000, that’s up to you and what you can afford.
For one year just do the same thing. Save the same amount. Pay off the debt consistently.
Even though at the start of the experiment you know how much you’ll save, there is something magical about reaching the end and having stuck with it.
That consistency has put you into a different mindset and a better financial position.
When I started investing in the stock market, I didn’t know that one day I’d be able to retire early and become financially free so early.
I just liked stocks so I consistently invested in them. And that consistency has paid off.
Consistency is the real key to achieving anything (both good and bad) so why not make it work for you.
Work your budget and be consistent about it.
See where you are in a year. You might be pleasantly surprised.
🙂
Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash
