7 Tricks To Stay On Budget

Need help managing your finances? We’re sharing our tips to help you better plan and track your spending so you can stick to your budget.

Do you set financial goals? Do you make plans for how you’ll reach those goals? Often times we have an idea of what we want to accomplish; we just don’t know where to begin. The secret to forming a great plan is to start by building a budget to take control of your money.

Creating your budget is the easy step – the challenging part is sticking to it. To help you start and stay on track, we’re sharing seven tricks to help you stay on budget. Keep this tool handy year round to reach your goals.

Track/Analyze Spending

Begin by monitoring your transactions for a month. This helps determine exactly where your money is going. You’ll find areas you can improve on, and adjust your spending accordingly. Use our financial tools to track and categorize your spending.

Create A Realistic Savings Plan

Set savings goals that challenge you yet are attainable. Setting ridiculously high expectations may lead to discouragement. On the contrary, low expectations fail to maximize potential.

Automate Savings

With the madness of everyday life, it’s easy to forget a thing or two. Instead of adding more to your to-do list, ensure you pay yourself first by automating your savings. Online banking is a great way to set recurring transfers on a weekly or monthly basis.

Use The Envelope System

This system requires you allocate funds into categorized envelopes each paycheck. You may have envelopes for eating out, groceries, entertainment, etc. When making a purchase, withdraw from the appropriate envelope. When you’ve run out of funds for that specific envelope, you know you’ve spent the budgeted amount.

Ditch Bad Habits

What’s your guilty pleasure? Maybe it’s buying an expensive cup of coffee each morning or eating out more often than you should. Instead, start making your coffee at home or meal plan for the week to avoid eating out. You’ll instantly see the difference in how much money you’re saving each week.

Shop With A List

How often do you go to the store for one item and end up with ten more? Browsing may result in purchasing extra items. Avoid overspending by shopping with a list of the items you need.

Sleep On Big Purchases

Looking to buy a big ticket item? It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of it all and make a purchase on impulse. Shop around, compare, and allow yourself time to think things through.