Budget Making Tips
In recent posts i’ve discussed the benefits setting yourself a budget can bring as well as going into quite a bit of detail about how to set yourself a budget. Following on from these posts I’ve put together a list of some budgeting tips that may help you successfully set and manage your personal finance budget.
Budget with Your iPhone
Keeping track of all of your expenditure is not always as easy as it sounds. It is very easy to forget all of the purchases you have made throughout a day if your memory is anything like mine! To help me keep track of my expenditure I have recently started using a handy little app called iExpenseit on my iPhone that is perfect for tracking all of my expenditure.
After i have bought something I simply pull out my iPhone (which i virtually always have on me) and add the details into iExpenseit. As well as being able to categorize expenditure in several different ways, the best feature for me is being able to export the expense details into reports in csv/xls form that can be emailed to my pc. This means I don’t have to spend time punching them into my Excel budget sheet.
Consistency is King
As boring as it may be the main thing that will help you successfully manage your finances better through is to take a consistent approach. Trying to everything all at once will most likely end up with the same result as doing nothing at all – failure.
If time is short aim to set aside 10 or 15 minutes everyday to work on your budget. If you are struggling to trim your spending take it one small step at a time. Work on one thing at a time (such as making coffee at home instead of buying at starbucks, saving a few bucks a day) and make it habit before you move on to the next thing in your budget.
Plan for contingencies
Whenever you put together a budget you should always build in some sort of slack to help cover unforeseen events such as an unexpected car repair bill. The best way to do this is to budget a fixed amount each month to come out of your expenditure and put it into a savings account to keep it safe. I call this my ‘emergency fund’.
Be strict with yourself and don’ be tempted to dip into this pot and spend it. Remember this money is there to cover unexpected or unforeseen bills, not to blow on a new pair of shoes or a holiday!!
Don’t forget quarterly annual expenses
While we are talking about budgeting for contingencies do not forget that many of you households expenses will be only incurred quarterly or evenly annually. When you work out your monthly spend/budget you should apportion these expenses on a monthly basis. Doing so will mean you do not blow your monthly budget next month when the car insurance is up for renewal.
Don’t do it alone
I’ve read quite a few different books about motivation and motivational techniques. One piece of advice I have often heard repeated is to share your goals. The theory goes that if you tell other people about your goals and aims you are far more likely to stay motivated and less likely to quit or under achieve.
The reason this tends to work is that we like other people to be impressed by our efforts. After we have shared our plans we have an inbuilt fear of failure that arises from not wanting other people to think we have failed. SO go out there and tell a close friend or family member what you are doing with your personal finances.
