Six Reasons to Create and Stick To A Budget

Budgeting can be a big ask for anyone. The time, effort and commitment it takes to successfully stick to and finish a budget can be draining. However, the rewards one reaps once they stick to their budget can be well worth the struggle. If you are currently struggling to maintain your budget or need a little extra motivation to start your budgeting journey, we have six reasons that might help you:

 

 

1. Know how much money you have.

Once you create your budget it will be easier to see how much money you are spending. The best way to do this is to spend a month going about your usual shopping, while keeping your receipts. The next month, you can take out your receipts and use them to create your budget.

2. Prioritize your needs.

Once you have all your receipts laid out, you can see where it is feasible to subtract and add to the budget from last month. No one knows your wants and needs like you do. However, it is key to prioritize needs versus wants. Excessive wants can be where your budget takes a turn for the worst.

3. Identify your spending drains.

Once you identify excessive wants, you can start to get rid of them. You don’t have to completely eliminate them, but you can cut out the unnecessary ones. One thing that can also help is visually seeing the amounts of your purchases and comparing them. It is easier to identify spending drains when you write down.

4. Spend more mindfully.

When you walk into the store with a budget, you are less likely to make purchases on a whim. There will usually be more thought in your actions. These small purchases of adding one or two things into your cart, per store visit, may seem marginal, but by the end of the month they will add up.

5. Save more money.

Since you are spending more mindfully, you will start to save more and more money. Soon, those last-second purchases, that were staples in your cart, will become things of the past. Saving money with a budget can set a precedent and will help you start thinking of ways to save in other areas.

6. Stress less about money.

Financial stress is something many of us deal with. Budgeting your expenses, weeks or a month in advance, can help minimize this stress, giving you one less thing to worry about.

Tags: budget, budgeting, money, spending