After I graduated, I started getting pretty serious about being responsible with my money. I started implementing the Dave Ramsey Envelope Method with my budgeting and explained it in my post “How to Never Go Over Your Budget“.
There are plenty of apps and online tools that lay out budgeting for you but I found that keeping track with pen and paper kept me the most accountable. Since then, I’ve fought many battles with myself but have accumulated more savings that I would have ever imagined and have learned about appreciating the simpler things in life. It’s been a beautiful lesson to learn and I want to share it with you guys.
For keeping in my budget, the most important things to do were to:
- ration out where ALL of my money would go (explained in How to Never Go Over Your Budget)
- And to develop methods of self-control
Today, I’ll be covering point #2 —- developing methods of self-control.
What You Shouldn’t Do When Budgeting
- Don’t buy a product (that isn’t a necessity) right away
- Whenever I walk into a store and find myself with a product in my hands, I never let myself buy it the same day. I have a rule that I must always walk out, give myself time to think about whether I really need it, and if I have an overwhelming urge to get it, I’ll get it. Not surprisingly, I’ve never had an overwhelming urge to go back and get it.
- The same applies to online shopping, you can get all the way up to filling your ‘cart’ with the products but don’t press that ‘check-out’ button right away. Give yourself some time to analyze the purchase and think carefully about it.
- Most times, I find myself thinking of creative ways to make something similar to the product that I was going to buy and this gives me the most fulfillment over anything!
- Don’t save without a purpose
- I have a “Things I Want” list that is currently 32 items strong. These are all items I don’t need but want to have. It gives me an incentive to refrain from spending the money I’ve allotted for my personal needs and to save for something that’s on this list. Over time, I find myself deleting certain things off the list because I find my desires have changed or I find that I am filled with more and more excitement for the day when I finally have enough saved to purchase a particular item.
- Don’t stick with the same method if it’s not working
- I had to go through several budgeting apps before I came across Dave Ramsey’s method and finally found success with budgeting. Every person operates in a different way and you’ll never know what’s right for you without trying them. If you find that your budgeting isn’t going so well even after a few weeks, try changing up your method.
- Don’t limit yourself to everything
- Budgeting is hard and the fact that you are putting in the effort means a lot. Don’t take out everything that you enjoy to save your money. Let yourself eat out once in a while, buy a little present, treat yourself to a coffee shop latte, etc. Set up a rewards system for yourself so that you can have the incentive to keep going.
These are all valuable lessons that I’ve learned with the budgeting process. If you want to know how to get started, feel free to contact me at jadoregrace@gmail.com!
