
I’m curious how many of you are using a budget? Like, you made it and actually STICK to it (for the most part) month to month? Or are you just living paycheck to paycheck and hoping that one of those lottery tickets is finally going to make you a millionaire?
If you are like most people, you may have meant to make a budget, but are worried about what you will see. Or you made one that one time, but you can’t follow it, because, well, Target and Chipotle and HomeGoods and (insert your other frivolous spending faves here).
I’m not going to ask you to start a strict budget right this second, but maybe you can take baby steps starting today. Find a way to track where EVERY SINGLE PENNY of your money is going. You should really try to do this for at least 30-60 days. Don’t do anything differently than what you usually do, besides tracking it. This should also be easy if you use your debit card or credit card, because they track your spending for you. Most of them will even break it down further into categories for you so you don’t have to (some common categories are: rent/mortgage, utilities, eating out, gas, groceries, car payment, insurance, student loan, credit card, etc). If you pay cash, then keep a pile of your receipts or go old school and grab a notebook and pen and write that s*&% down.
I remember when I first started my budget about 10 years ago. I found in my 30 days of spending tracking that my husband and I had spent something ridiculous like $400 eating out that month for two people. What?! That was like a car payment, except we were just eating the money, and then, well, you know what happens when you eat.
So just start here and trust me on this one and don’t try and cheat. If you already have your budget, spend the next 30-60 days reviewing and seeing what areas, if any, could use some improvement. I guarantee that you won’t regret it, and you will need this part of budgeting down before you can move on to the next one.
Hahaha yes! I am definitely eating or wearing it!
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I have been the same in the past but changing that in 2019 and making my money WORK for me for a change 😉
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I couldn’t agree more about the ridiculous amounts we all spend eating out! I think this has to be one of the top problems for most people, and it slips by so easily.
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Yes!! It is eye opening if people just take a minute to add it up. I also feel like the nutrition is compromised when eating out. (putting that nicely). Other than convenience and occasional socializing ..I really can’t find any benefits to eating out. 🤷♀️
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We don’t eat out very much, but even just going to the store too often puts us in a funk financially. I hate buying food and literally throwing it away because it doesn’t get eaten.
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Do you meal prep or prep the stuff you buy to make it easy and convenient to grab? If we don’t do either of those things..we end up with food thrown out also. 🙄
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I usually do both, but sometimes don’t grab prepped food before I leave the house or something gets hidden in the fridge so I forget about it. We usually do pretty well, but it’s a big pet peeve of mine.
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Mine also! I am always on my family to eat a fruit or veggie 🤣
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