How to Control Your Budget

How to control you budget? Unlike many people find that their first attempt in the budget is not realistic from the very beginning of my budget is actually fairly accurate and usable. A year later, my monthly budget is a little different with the first one! I was awesome, right? The answer is Wrong..

I would say that I really (100% perfectly in my budget that is to say, come in at or) below budget in each category, only about 10% currently hold fast. Another 50-60% of the time, I was able to go further into several categories, but still keep my total output under the planned total.

And then there are the times where I just fail – for one reason or another, I allow my total spending to exceed my planned spending for the month. I always know when this is the case – my very detailed tracking system allows me to see how much money I have available at any given time.

When I know I have $20 available and then I spend $35 at a dinner I felt I couldn’t say no to, I have officially gone over. Even that wouldn’t be so bad, if only I stopped there.

But I recently noticed a recurring problem – once I complete the transaction that pushes me into the red, I cease to remember I have a budget at all. I spend, spend, spend: new dress here, extra dinner out there, and on and on. The initial $15 over budget turns into $50, $80, even $100 or more. Once I relinquish that first bit of control, I unleash a spending monster!

Getting Control of the Budget
Here are three things I’ve done recently to tame the spending :

1. Increase my budget slightly. This seems counter intuitive, but I realized that when I go over budget, I go way over. In general though, I work hard to stay under budget. Giving myself a little breathing room so that that one extra expenditure is still within my planned spending actually ends up saving me money in the long run!
2. Institute no-spend days/weekends. When I realize I’m running low in certain categories or overall, I institute no-spend days. This means no money physically leaves my bank account; I am still allowed to use things I have already paid for like gas and cable. Other than that though, I can’t spend a dime, so I have to make meals using existing groceries, watch TV or movies that I already own, and only go out for free entertainment such as museums (I live in DC).
3. Be honest with those around me. In the past one of the reasons I’ve overspent is because I don’t want to look like I either don’t have money or like I am too obsessed with saving money. I also make an effort to tell my friends that I am saving for things like an upcoming licensing exam, new furniture, and an eventual car, so that they understand when I have to turn down expensive outings.

These things are not easy, especially the last one. But in the end, they are better for my bottom line. Everybody goes through budget from time to time to come. It is what you will do next that matters. The trick is to concentrate on spending as little as possible, after experiencing the budget-buster occurs. What do you do to keep your spending under control?

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