sticking to your budget

In the last post of my series on cutting monthly expenses, budget 101, I talked about creating a budget. Budgeting your income and figuring out how much you want to allocate for certain things is a good first step, but means nothing if you don’t stick to it.

For me, the biggest area that I spend in is entertainment. When I say entertainment, I mean everything that isn’t essential. It means going out to eat, movies, the occasional coffee, etc.

Tips for sticking to your budget:

1. Think about what you’re trading when you’re about to spend

Is it worth going out to lunch today if it means you have to stay in for dinner this weekend?

2. Deduct spending from your budget immediately after spending

Use a dry erase board or keep track of your budget amounts in a planner. Write the total amount you budget at the beginning of the month, and when you spend money as part of budget, subtract the amount to get the amount you have left to spend.

3. Keep receipts for all spending

This will allow you to see what you were spending money on throughout the month, and you can see that you could have skipped some of that spending.

These three things really help me to keep track of what I’m spending and to resist that $4 cup of coffee, vending machine candy bar, or lunch out when I’ve packed a perfectly good one!