The dreaded word…budget! We all work hard for our money yet as responsible adults, we have to save – it’s inevitable. Saving and being on a budget can be hard, like really hard. After all, this Rebecca Minkoff satchel is calling my name but my dwindling bank account will not be a happy camper if I give in and splurge. For the past four weeks, I’ve decided to become more conscious of my spending patterns and behaviors and created a “budget.” Problem here is that I’m no finance guru and I do an exceptionally great job at spending money. With the latter being a roadblock in my determination to budget, I’ve had to shift my mindset when it comes to finances in order to improve my chances of saving that extra $cash$ money! Why am I budgeting? Well, Jennifer and I have some extremely exciting projects in the works that will require cash flow (can’t wait to share more) and I have a ludicrous amount of student loan debt that I NEED to pay off. Overall, I just want to have a financially secure future.
I’m starting with baby steps and as I mentioned, June has become a month of awareness. I’m keeping receipts, meal planning to eat at home, avoiding boutiques at all costs, searching for free entertainment in Austin, cutting unnecessary bills (still haven’t parted ways with Netflix – I don’t think that’s gonna happen), created spreadsheets to manage reoccurring bills, listening to money podcasts by Jess Lively , carried only cash and so on. And it’s been tough! I’ve surrendered to retail therapy and now just have to deal with bad days by eating lots of chocolate. Woe is me! As any flawed human being, I had two mini-breakdowns and purchased a button up chambray shirt that I justified because it was identical to a Splendid top my old roommate owns and I used to borrow all the time, plus it was $17 not Splendid pricing. Second, I had a special event to attend and nothing to wear (every girl’s problem) so I splurged on a super chic white jumpsuit. Well worth it, because I looked great and felt great. As for the food budget…we all gotta eat, right? This is a huge area of improvement for me. I need to cut back on going out to eat and just cook at home. Slowly but surely, I’ve made strides and I know that this will be a commitment. It will also help me become happier with less because nobody really needs all the junk they buy anyway. Right?!
Soon enough, if and only if I stick to my budget, I will have my school loans paid off and start saving for our special project! Does anyone have great advice for budgeting? An app, a book, a program I can use to manage the finances? Happy Savings!
“Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.” -Warren Buffet
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