The Best Budgeting Tips (Part 1)

2024 is your year of financial responsibility! The financial goals you want to accomplish begin with getting clear on what you want and budgeting consistently. 

Before I dive into the budgeting tips, I want to challenge your perspective on budgeting. When budgeting comes to mind we typically think of limitations and rules to stop us from spending a certain amount of money. This is partially true, but budgeting is deeper than stopping you from buying your favorite meal from a restaurant. When you budget, you are giving your money direction. You are taking time to think, plan, and give purpose to the money you’ve earned so you can manage it well. This blog post will give you a few budgeting tips that I live by and will help you adopt a lifestyle of budgeting! 

1. Go through your bank statements and identify your spending patterns

   When you begin budgeting, take a look back at your bank statements and reflect on your relationship with money. What you regularly spend money on can give you insight into what you value, your money habits, and your spending patterns. While looking through your bank statements, pull out a blank sheet of paper and categorize your spending ie: food, gas, groceries, shopping, lending, etc. 

2. Budget every time you get paid. 

   I know we’ve been taught to create monthly budgets but we should budget based on how frequently we get paid. Your budget is your financial GPS. Just like a GPS gives you directions to get from point A to point B, it is your responsibility to give your money directions. Is $300 going to savings for an emergency? Is $45 going towards the nude Stanley Cup you’ve been eyeing? Is $100 going towards your ROTH IRA? Wherever your money is going, you must give the command. Your money doesn’t need direction once a month, it needs direction every time it hits your hands or your checking account. 

3. Use pen and paper 

   There’s something different about writing your numbers down on paper for you to see them clearly in front of you. As you budget your money, use this template to help you see what you have coming in vs. leaving out, and then think about what you plan to save, spend, invest, and give. Digital apps are good to use for budgeting but use them as an addition. Start and stick with pen and paper to help you increase your financial discipline. Check out the budgeting template below that was taken from The Responsible Homegirl Planner! Click here to purchase your planner and start using pen and paper to budget every time you get paid. 

4. Create financial goals and revisit them monthly 

Setting financial goals gives you purpose. We don’t budget just to budget, everything we do is purposeful! Why are you budgeting? If you don’t know why, think about what managing your money will do for you. Having a strong why helps you stay consistent when it’s hard to sacrifice. Your “why” will help you allot 30 minutes to budget your money every time you get paid instead of engaging in your normal routine of getting paid, paying bills, and letting the rest of your money chill in a bank account patiently waiting to get spent. Create a why/ goals that are so strong that they outweigh your short-term desires and bad money habits. After creating these goals, revisit them monthly! Track your progress and keep pushing until you see your goals manifested in real life.

I hope you learned something practical and transformative from Part 1 of The Best Budgeting Tips. Five years ago, I was facing eviction and was so embarrassed by my financial situation. Everything changed when I took out a blank sheet of paper, went through my bank statements, and committed to learn how to manage my money. I’m sharing budgeting tips that have helped me and so many others budget consistently. Read this blog post as much as you need to and order The Responsible Homegirl Planner to help you on your journey. The planner will serve as your physical reminder to stop wasting your money and budget every time you get paid.