Where’s Your Money Going: How to Start Budgeting Better

Sometimes a little readjustment is required in terms of our expenses. Recessions, home loan approvals, global pandemics – all of these require us to reconsider the amount we spend.

They also call for us to stick to a budget and think of ways to change our spending habits, which isn’t always easy. How can you begin to reassess your finances and start budgeting better?

Top 3 Ways to Start Budgeting Better

You think that reassessing your financial situations is difficult for different reasons. You might have had to switch jobs due to the factors we’ve mentioned in our introduction. You might have had to increase spending in certain areas and reduce spending in others.

Whatever your circumstance, in essence, reassessing your approaches to spending is a lifestyle choice, and it’s a positive one. Although it can be difficult, you can make it simpler by following the steps outlined below.

Consider Your Previous Spending Habits

In order to start budgeting better, you must consider your previous spending habits. One of the first things you’ll want to do to begin reassessing your spending habits is to think about where your money went each month in the past, in comparison to where you’d like your money to go in the future.

A question to ask when you are planning to start budgeting better is to what do you usually spend your income on? When there are major shifts in the economic climate, the items we normally spend our money on changes significantly. Compared with your previous spending habits, you might have found yourself spending less on fuel during the Covid-19 pandemic, for example.

Track Your Current Expenses – Spreadsheets vs. Budgeting Apps

If you’re looking for ways to stick to making changes to what you spend, you’ll need to track how much you currently spend. Now, there are many ways to do this.

You could use a spreadsheet to enter your inflows and outflows.

If you think that’s a bit old school, you could use a money app to view all of your accounts, monitor your debts, and keep a close eye on your financial situation with ease.

Create Your Budget Based on Past and Current Spending Habits

Now you’ll want to create your budget. Your budget should take into account your financial goals, your income and your expenses. To create a budget, you will need to work out your total current income, add up all of your expenses, and then use the budgeting apps we’ve talked about to help you maintain your budget.

Why Reassessing Spending Habits Fail and How to Overcome It

Maintaining your budget is the difficult part. When it comes to reassessing your spending habits there are a few main reasons why reassessing old spending habits fails.

Here are two things to look out for when reassessing your approaches to spending.

You are spending more than you earn.

Are you spending more than what you earn? Are your spending habits lapsing back into your old ways? This is a top reason why budgets fail.

As we’ve mentioned, reassessing your spending habits is a lifestyle choice, which is why it can be difficult to maintain and stick to your new spending regime. To solve this, you should always aim to spend less than you earn and save money. Calculate your expenses, deduct them from your monthly earnings, and find out which areas in which you need to spend less.

You haven’t adjusted your budget in line with financial reassessment.

Adjusting your budget is essential for various reasons. It should always reflect your financial situation. Say, for example, you find another job that pays less money. The amount you can afford to spend might be lower on some occasions than in the past.

What if your partner loses their job and your household income is lower than usual? These sorts of changes should be accounted for in your budget.

Here’s another one. What if you find yourself with some expenses that you didn’t see coming? The solution to this is to create an emergency fund.

How do emergency funds help with financial reassessments?

Sometimes, you’ll find that reassessing your spending habits is difficult. Medical emergencies, a sudden increase in your bills, an unexpected vet bill: these are all ways that your spending reassessment might be tested.

But one key way to approach financial reassessment is to have adequate insurance in place as well as an emergency fund. Keeping money aside for those occasional days where you’re hit with unexpected expenses can help keep your balances in check.

Similarly, insurance will help protect you in unforeseen circumstances, for example if for whatever reason you are prevented from working. It’s useful as it will help you maintain your new spending regime and act as a monetary cushion when you find yourself eating into your budget.

Start Budgeting Better – Summary

Reassessing your spending habits isn’t always easy, but the key things that will make it simpler are to compare your past and present outgoings, create an emergency fund, and use budgeting apps to make budgeting easier.

If this article detailing how to start budgeting better was useful, be sure to check out the financial planning section of the site.