Living on a Budget
Even just the word ‘budgeting’ sounds restricting. When you hear it, you probably think of eating rice cakes day in and day out, driving a moped, never going to a store besides the supermarket, and spending every moment of free time reading library books in the dark.
Living on a budget does not mean you have no life. Sure, you can set one up so that you never do anything fun, but you can also devise a budgeting plan that works with you not against you. If you learn to live in moderation instead of living without, you can budget without going crazy.
Decide what ‘wants’ you want most.
You don’t have to cut out every bit of fun money and entertainment. A good budget will give you some money towards entertainment and goodies. Decide what things you do for fun you like most. Set aside enough money for these things, but within a budget.
For example, let’s say you love eating out, going to the movies, and going to concerts. If you do each of these things now about 3 times a month, you could be spending up to $200 a month on entertainment. On top of that, you could be spending another $200 buying DVDs, MP3s, and books. That’s $400 a month for fun stuff, more than enough for one person.
Next, decide which of these things you like the most. Would you prefer to eat out frequently, go to lots of movies, or keep going to concerts? Maybe your decide you love all three but cut them each down to once per month. You could save about $130 by only spending $70 a month of entertainment.
If you started renting DVDs, and reading library books, but you just love your music, you save another $120. Spending $150 on extra fun stuff is much better and more reasonable than $400. That’s a $250 dollar savings.
Don’t waste money on things you don’t even want or need.
When you go food shopping, you probably waste a lot of money. If you buy all name brands, ignore coupons and store specials, and continuously buy more than you need and will eat, you are just throwing money away.
Come up with a plan before you go shopping. Make a list and only buy what you really need. Find coupons and specials for each purchase and buy store brand whenever you can.
Always stick to your budget. It will get easier.
At first, it might seem like sticking to your budget takes so much time and can get frustrating. The longer you stick with it, the easier it will get. Don’t give up on it. Find ways to make it easier, and before you know it, it will become second nature.