Last updated on September 4th, 2023 at 11:01 am
Long-term budgeters struggle to stick to their budget, let alone budget newbies. The point here is that regardless of who you are (even if you’re a financial guru), it’s normal to struggle with sticking to your budget.
- That pesky guy called inflation does not joke.
- The unexpected expenses are always lurking.
- The emergencies could happen at any time and let’s face it,
- Sometimes, you just want to enjoy your hard-earned money.
When it comes to our finances, a lot of things are stacked against us and it’s not a level playing field. Things can easily get out of hand if one’s not cautious.
A budget helps you figure out and account for every (> 90%) penny that you earn and spend. We can’t disregard the relevance of an increased income or eradicating systemic poverty but while these are underway, we need to work with what we have.
As someone who’s been pretty serious about tracking my finances for a while, I’ve found that these methods work for me:
Being flexible:
With your budget, you need to be flexible. I know that this raises the question of “How then am I sticking to the budget if I have to adjust as required?” But seeking perfection sometimes can result in shooting ourselves in the foot. The idea is to find what works and not to be too stringent such that there’s no wiggle room and you just ditch the whole idea.
Allot the intended amount to your different expenses and goals, but should anything come up, especially with the variable expenses such as feeding, adjust as required. It can also be a way to reward yourself for the times that you stick to your budget.
Being realistic:
Another tip to make your budget work is to be realistic when planning your budget. You can’t wish away certain expenses especially if they are recurrent.
If you know that certain dues are unavoidable, it’s unrealistic to hope that maybe you wouldn’t have to pay them the following month. If you include them in your budget and the expense doesn’t come up that month, then that’s a different case.
Giving room for the unexpected:
This is a major budget pitfall. The best way to tackle this is to plan to tackle any unexpected expense partially and not completely. This can come under miscellaneous.
Say a friend requests financial assistance, rather than assisting them 100%, giving room for the unexpected in your budget means that you’re allowed to probably assist about 60%. If you’re able to do more, that’s fine but every unexpected expense, except completely necessary (in which case you resort to the first tip) should be resolved to an extent and not completely. Keep in mind that they are unending, so do only what you can.
Following the 50/30/20 rule:
This means that 50% of your income goes to your needs, 30% to your wants, and 20% to your savings and debts. Honestly, my opinion on this rule is to aim for more. I believe that this is where financial minimalism can assist.
The 50/30/20 rule is a good place to start but to do better, you need to weed out certain unnecessary expenses. If you can do with less than 30% of your income on your wants, say 10%, then that’s good. Consider that what you save is also a form of reward.
Getting your finances in order requires a lot of trial and error. However, finances are so sensitive that certain errors can be hard to come back from. On this journey, my candid advice is to keep seeking knowledge and understand that what works for another might need a lot of tweaking for you.
Cheers!
