Maybe you’ve started a budget but have found it complicated, time-consuming and not worth it. In the spirit of springtime, consider cleaning up your budget and starting fresh. A new season means a new and improved budget!
Find A Purpose
What’s the reason you started a budget? Maybe you are saving for your wedding, or possibly wanting to reduce your debt. Whatever the purpose is, make it clear and remind yourself of the reason you started. This will give you motivation to continue sticking to your budget!
Establish Your Priorities
What’s your main finance priority right now? Two of the most important concerns should usually be building an emergency fund and repaying debt. Keep these things in mind and be sure to incorporate them into your budget.
Write Everything Down
Sometimes the best way to clearly see the problems in your budget and spending is to put everything on paper. One idea is to keep a pen-and-paper list of every single thing you spend for an entire month. Look over the list at the end of the month, and you’d be surprised at the changes you could make to your budget.
Learn From Your Past
If you’ve tried budgeting before, you probably know a little about what works for you and what doesn’t. For example, let’s say you went way over budget in the month of December because of Christmas. Try adjusting your budget in other months to give yourself more leeway in December. Take what you’ve learned into account and make alterations to your budget based on them.
Plan For The Unexpected
Maybe in the past you stuck to your budget, but out of nowhere, something threw a wrench in your plans. You could lose your job, have car problems, need maintenance on your house… the list goes on. This is where your emergency fund comes in; having a backup plan relieves a lot of stress!
Be Proud of Your Progress
Whether you’ve saved thousands of dollars already or just recently decided to start budgeting, you’ve made important progress. Take a moment to gain motivation by looking at how far you’ve come!
Budgeting can seem scary and complicated at first, but sometimes you just need to take a step back and plan your next steps. This spring is the perfect time to start fresh with your budget! Open up an account with us to store your savings this year.
Peoples Bank & Trust Co.
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