13 Tips to Help You Stick to Your Budget

We all know how important it is so stick to your budget in order to achieve your financial goals.

But picture this:

The 1st of the month comes around. You are so excited to restart your budget and actually stick to it this time! Then, (seemingly) out of nowhere, you get to the middle of the month and realize you spent all your money.

We've all been there.

It doesn't take long to overextend your budget if you don't have a system to keep you accountable. It is so easy to talk ourselves into a couple small purchases (i.e. a Starbucks order twice a week). But these purchases can quickly add up throughout the month.

Here are the top tricks you can use to help stick to your budget (and not overspend) each month.

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Make a budget... that you can actually stick to

This goes without saying, but you need to actually have a budget but in order to stick to a budget.

When creating your budget, make sure that you set money saving goals that you can actually achieve. If your budget is too extreme, the chances of going over each month are going to be a lot higher.

The first budget I created was not attainable. I didn't realize this at the time, so I beat myself up about being "terrible at managing my money" until I finally figured out the cause of my "overspending."

In reality, I was setting goals that were way too intense... like limiting my grocery expenses to only $50 a month and saying goodbye to Starbucks until I was out of debt.

Yeah, not going to happen.

Create a budget that is realistic for you, your financial goals, hobbies, and things you enjoy. If you budget with these in mind, you will be much more motivated to stick with it.

Write down your purchases

If you keep overspending but aren't sure how, try writing down your purchases. Doing this for a couple of weeks will help you identify your spending patterns.

I used to keep a note in my phone where I wrote purchases as soon as I made them. It was a little inconvenient and annoying at times, but that's the point! The inconvenience helped me pay attention to my spending, and eventually break some bad spending habits.

Download an app to track your spending

If you don't want to go the manual tracking route, there are a ton of great budgeting apps that will do it automatically.

My favorite budgeting system (by far) is Every Dollar. You have to pay for a membership for it to automatically track your payments (which I don't do), but I love how it allows me to assign each purchase to a budget category as soon as I enter it.

Another popular option is Mint. This app is completely free, connects to your bank accounts, automatically tracks transactions, and allows you unlimited credit score reports.

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Set up autopay

This tip has been so beneficial for me throughout the years! I set up automatic payments so that money is withdrawn from my bank account as close to payday as possible.

This helps me make sure that 1) I don't have to remember what days different bills are due and 2) there is no chance of me spending money in a way that would prevent me from paying my bills on time.

Leave your credit card at home (and remove it from ApplePay)

When I was starting out on my personal finance journey, the credit card temptation was a real kicker. I would spend so much time analyzing my debt, finances, and creating a budget, and then STILL take my credit card with me shopping. That made it all to easy to make an impulsive purchase at ULTA (if you're a makeup lover, you know that an impulsive ULTA purchase can easily be $50 or more).

Ugh.

I convinced myself that the credit card was in my wallet "in case of emergencies." In reality, it was really there to fund unexpected shopping trips.

After about three months of trying to get out of debt but still racking up a credit card balance, I finally decided to leave my credit card at home (and deleted it from ApplePay). I didn't put my credit card back into my wallet until I knew I could use it responsibly.

Give Yourself A Cash Allowance

It is completely unrealistic to make a budget that doesn't give you some money to spend in the moment.

I typically budget around $100 (or $25 each week) for "fun" things. And, here's the thing, these days I almost never spend the full amount! Whatever is leftover at the end of each month, I send straight to savings.

However you use your cash allowance is up to you, but make sure to give yourself this freedom when creating your budget each month.

Make a grocery list and stick to it

Whatever you do, do not stray from your grocery list.

If you have a sugar craving at the grocery store and want a box of cookies, only get them if they are on your list! Otherwise, it can quickly become a snowball of unnecessary purchases.

Multiple Bank Accounts

Try having separate bank accounts for your bills, spending, and saving! Keeping these accounts separate can make sure that your spending money never takes away from your bill payments.

Meal Plan

Meal prepping will save you so. much. money.

There was a period of time in college where I had about a month between leases. During this time, I stayed at my friend's and parent's houses (my parents lived about an hour away from my university, and it wasn't convenient to stay there the whole time because of my on-campus jobs).

Since I didn't have access to my own kitchen, I grabbed breakfast and coffee from Starbucks in the morning, ordered out for lunch, and then ate with my friends/parents for dinner.

At the end of the month, I totaled up my expenses and realized I had spent over $350 dollars (!!) by ordering out food and vowed to never spend that much going out to eat again.

Spending this kind of money on food is common for so many people!

These days, I plan the recipes I want for the week and try to find recipes that use similar ingredients.

I still go out to eat with friends a few times a month, but make sure it is included in my budget!

Check out my post on 18 Tips to Save Money on Groceries for more food saving tips!

Don't be wasteful

My grandma always said that being wasteful is like throwing money down the drain.

And she is so right.

Her words always stuck with me because of how true they are! When shopping, be mindful of what you are purchasing.

Some helpful questions to ask yourself before making a purchase are:

Food
- Will I use this up before the expiration date?
- How many recipes can I use this in?
- Do I only want this because of a craving?
- Clothes and Other Items
  - How many outfits can I wear this with?
  - How much use will I realistically get out of this purchase?
  - Will this add enrichment to my life in some way?
  - What is the likelihood of this ending up in my declutter pile next year?

Additionally, If a piece of clothing tears or a gadget breaks, see if you can fix it before throwing it away.

And, as always, make sure to shut off the water when you aren't using it instead of letting it run (i.e. turn off the water while brushing your teeth).

Check your calendar

Holidays and birthdays come around at the same time each year.

We typically hear about weddings, baby showers, etc. a few months in advance.

Keep an eye on your calendar and start saving up for gifts and events so that they don't catch you (and your budget!) by surprise.

Learn to say no

This is still something I struggle with sometimes. I hate letting people down, and have sacrificed my budget at times because of it.

When starting your personal finance/frugal living journey, it's important to realize that a lot of people (like 65% of Americans) do not prioritize saving or paying off debt. It is likely that some of your friends will not have the same financial values as you, and you will probably need to start turning down some invitations.

In college (when I was just starting to pay attention to my personal finances), my friends and I planned a trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina. About three weeks before the trip, I had some unexpected car trouble that wiped out my (almost non-existent) emergency fund--which I was planning to use to pay for the vacation--not a responsible choice.

Instead of paying for it all on my credit card, I backed out on going.

Were my friends upset with me? Oh yeah.

They ended up taking their boyfriends on the trip instead, which was a relief because no money was lost on the reservations.

A few weeks after they returned, I called them and apologized for cancelling, acknowledged the situation I put them in, and also clearly stated the financial reasons for doing so.

In the end, they both forgave me (which I am very grateful for).

It was a messy situation, and I still wish that I had somehow been able to join them in Hilton Head, but I know that I did the right thing for my personal finances by not going.

Saying no to dinners, vacations, and other events is something that you will have to do when prioritizing paying off debt and saving money. It is important to find the right balance between your financial goals and social life, which may lead to turning down some experiences that don't fit into your budget.

It's hard at first, but your friends will understand and support you in the end.

The ability to stick to your budget ultimately comes down to tracking your spending and using some will power. These tips helped me modify my spending patterns, and I hope they help you as well!

Happy saving!

<3 Charlotte

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