Self Help

Establish a Budget and Stick to It

Most people can’t tell you where their pay checks go each month. All they know is that they don’t have enough money to make ends meet. That’s like having a checking account, writing checks, and never balancing it. Don’t leave the management of your money to chance like that. Establish a budget and stick to it. However, before you can establish a budget, you must first know how much money you are currently spending each month.

Understand that there are monthly expenditures that you may not be able to change immediately, for example: mortgage/rent and car note, and there are monthly expenditures that you can change relatively easily: food, clothing and utilities. Focus on the ones you can do something about right now, and implement a budget reduction plan.

With regard to the monthly expenditures you can change immediately, review the amount of money you are currently spending, and try to reduce that amount by 25% the first month. For example, if you are currently spending $300 a month on food, try to spend no more than $225 (or 25% less). Then, after a few months, try to further reduce the amount you are spending to no more than $150 a month (or by another 25%). Keep reducing your budgeted amount until you feel you have decreased this monthly expenditure by as much as you possibly can.

The bottom line is that you must establish a budget, stick to it and implement a reduction plan, so that your financial situation won’t be left to chance. Having a budget and not sticking to it is just like not having one at all. If you follow your budget and implement a reduction plan by gradually decreasing the amount you are spending in all areas, you can increase the amount you are putting in your savings account.

Establish at Least One Goal a Month

Since we’ve established that change isn’t easy, a gradual savings approach may be best for you. If so, we’ve got just the plan: Establish at least one savings goal per month. For example, if one of your goals is to stop eating out so much, then do it. To keep that monthly goal in practice and fresh on your mind, write it down and stick it on your refrigerator door. Every time you go to the refrigerator, review that goal. Because practice makes perfect, continue to practice your goal of the month until it becomes a habit. Then, establish and begin implementing another goal.

Keep going until you have totally changed your way of thinking financially toward improving your financial condition and becoming totally debt-free. Just think, improving your financial condition can begin by establishing at least one savings goal per month.