How to Effectively Budget When the Money's Running Out
My mother-in-law and I were discussing budgeting a while back and she made the comment that she has never budgeted because she knows there isn't enough money. Her comment basically implied that there was no point to budgeting.
This is a common misconception of people. If there isn't enough money, why bother budgeting in the first place? If you're wondering how to budget (or even why you should) when money's tight, then read on.
Despite the fact that the bills are sky-high and your available funds are low -- when you'll take the time to consciously look at those available funds and make the decision BEFOREHAND about what your money should be doing. Do NOT throw in the towel on this! Take a hard look at your money and give it focus: clothes, food, electricity, miscellaneous, etc. This exercise is vitally important.
In the situation where there truly isn't enough money, you'll still be rattling off obligations and the money will have dried up. That doesn't mean the work done didn't produce any fruit! When you set priorities to your money, you're maximizing exactly what it will be doing and your dollars will stretch further. That's key in starting and learning how to budget.
The second step is to be certain you're recording every single penny that you spend. Realize that even if you're spending and driving a deficit, the task of recording your spending MANUALLY will mitigate the deficit-spending as much as possible. Your total deficit will be much lower as a result and you'll be in a better position than had you not done it at all.
Manually recording what you spend helps reinforce awareness, and reconnects you psychologically back to your money. In this day and age, marketers, banks, and card processors want us to spend and spend without regard for our personal financial situation. This is no way to budget or manage your money! The exercise of recording your spending will make you (painfully) aware of where you should cut back.
In the end, planning ahead and recording the ongoing will help you budget effectively. Even if you're operating at a deficit, your losses will be mitigated through the use of these two budgeting tactics.
This is a common misconception of people. If there isn't enough money, why bother budgeting in the first place? If you're wondering how to budget (or even why you should) when money's tight, then read on.
Despite the fact that the bills are sky-high and your available funds are low -- when you'll take the time to consciously look at those available funds and make the decision BEFOREHAND about what your money should be doing. Do NOT throw in the towel on this! Take a hard look at your money and give it focus: clothes, food, electricity, miscellaneous, etc. This exercise is vitally important.
In the situation where there truly isn't enough money, you'll still be rattling off obligations and the money will have dried up. That doesn't mean the work done didn't produce any fruit! When you set priorities to your money, you're maximizing exactly what it will be doing and your dollars will stretch further. That's key in starting and learning how to budget.
The second step is to be certain you're recording every single penny that you spend. Realize that even if you're spending and driving a deficit, the task of recording your spending MANUALLY will mitigate the deficit-spending as much as possible. Your total deficit will be much lower as a result and you'll be in a better position than had you not done it at all.
Manually recording what you spend helps reinforce awareness, and reconnects you psychologically back to your money. In this day and age, marketers, banks, and card processors want us to spend and spend without regard for our personal financial situation. This is no way to budget or manage your money! The exercise of recording your spending will make you (painfully) aware of where you should cut back.
In the end, planning ahead and recording the ongoing will help you budget effectively. Even if you're operating at a deficit, your losses will be mitigated through the use of these two budgeting tactics.
About the Author:
Learn how to budget in 10 days with Jesse Mecham's free personal budgeting course. Don't keep making the same budgeting mistakes!
posted by Credit Counseling at
8:28 AM
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