Why You Can’t Stick To A Budget
Sticking to a budget
Your budget should be working for you instead of you working for your budget.
Most of us who live from wage to wage often rely on and become dependent on creating budgets to make it through to the next month debt free.
Unfortunately, for some, it can be a struggle to keep up with the rising expenses and costs. If you are yet to meet your budget every month, you are not alone.
Research has shown that nearly half of the world lives on less than $5.50 a day, which for a lot of us will seem unimaginable.
Sticking to a budget on this scale is probably unrealistic. However, it should show you the advantage that you have in comparison to millions of other people.
Sticking to a budget starts with facing your reality, and the reality is if you want a stable financial future, you need to commit to your budget as soon as possible.
If you are unsure as to where you are going wrong each month, consider the following points:
You See Unnecessary Things As Necessities
If you have failed to meet your budget each month, you should take some time to reflect on where your money is going.
This might include writing down your current priorities and financial goals and then going into your bank statements and seeing where the pennies are going.
Perhaps you have a budget for your groceries that you keep on overspending on.
Are you getting your food items for the best discounts possible, or are you still shopping at the stores you went to when a budget was not as important?
These harsh reality checks must be done if you want to see your wealth accumulate and for the use of an IVA calculator due to debt to be avoided.
You Try To Over Budget
It is just as easy to overestimate your budget as it is to underestimate your budget.
You might have calculated your budgets unrealistically low, hence why you are so easily falling into overspending habits.
By allowing yourself to overspend on your unrealistic limits, you are subconsciously setting the behavior of overspending to be acceptable, which further creates a snowball effect for the rest of your financial budget.
Give yourself some leeway and give yourself reasonable budgets that you can stick to. Too tight budgets eventually squeeze too much money out when you least expect it.
You Don’t Have An Accountability Partner
If financial self-control does not come naturally to you, it might be worth seeking an accountability partner.
An accountability partner is someone who can check in with your current spending habits, making sure that you are not exceeding the limits you have made for yourself.
Your chosen accountability partner should be someone that you trust and someone that you feel comfortable sharing your budgets with.
Perhaps you might make a deal with this partner that if you exceed your budget for unreasonable reasons, you have to pay them a certain fee for breaking your contract.
This is just a simple way you can put more pressure on yourself to stick within these limits until it becomes a habit.
You Can’t Increase Your Income
Alternatively, you might be making your spending as tight as possible, but the cost of living in your area might be constantly increasing.
In this circumstance, it might be better to think from a perspective of how exactly you can increase your income to meet the increasing costs of living.
This might include spending time searching for side hustles you can do from home or considering speaking to your workplace about a pay rise if your work rate reflects the wage you are seeking.
Final Thoughts
Sticking to your budget starts with changing your mindset and establishing your financial goals.
If you are saving for a house, you have no choice but to be strict with your spending and potentially look at increasing your income.
Everyone has a unique budget, but the key is making it work for you whilst avoiding falling into debt.
Category: Budget
