Creating a personal budget doesn’t have to be painful, when you take the right steps it can actually be fun! Defining future goals and reminding yourself why you are making various cutbacks will keep you motivated and driven to form positive saving and spending habits.
Limiting subscriptions and finding alternate entertainment venues are easy things to do. Reviewing car insurance quotes and finding the best one for you and your lifestyle is a seamless way to put money back into the pocket book.
Before You Define Your Long or Short Term Goals
You might feel all over the map when it comes to defining your true financial goals. There may be some hesitancy in sitting down to define your goals because they seem overwhelming or even unrealistic. The trick to success is to start with the easiest steps and move from there.
- Improving your financial literacy. Things change in the financial world every single day. You are likely interested in investing your money but don’t know how to start or have thought about things like crypto currency but have no idea how they work.
Talk to a financial professional
Listen to trusted financial podcasts
Subscribe to various financial newsletters
- Create a budget. Giving your financial health a checkup is one of the first steps in knowing exactly where all of your money is going and how much is left to be saved for other purposes.
Calculate net income
Track your spending over one month
Adjust your spending where you can
Review your budget on a regular basis
- Make more money. While money can’t buy happiness, it sure makes daily life easier, especially when you have other goals to pursue that you just can’t seem to funnel money to.
Take on a part time consulting job
Sell items in a yard sale or online
Drive for Lyft or Uber
Deliver food or goods
Prioritizing Your Long and Short Term Goals
Reading a novel of a thousand pages or climbing a mountain a thousand feet high feels nearly impossible at first. You question your tenacity and your fortitude to accomplish the feat. Long and short term life goals are really no different. But it’s more than just believing you can do it, it’s knowing how to set yourself up for success.
- Breaking down long term goals. Long term goals have the unsavory burden of not supplying us with immediate rewards. We must learn to be patient with consistency, and chipping away at the progress bit by bit. Break long term goals into short term goals and reward yourself when you complete the short-term goals to keep yourself interested in the process
- Couple short term goals with something you love. Do you strive to make your own lunch for the day (to save money) but hate the idea of it? Choose your favorite music or podcast and train yourself that you will only listen to it while you make or eat your home-made lunch.
- Action creates motivation. If you wait to feel inspired to work on your goals, they will never get done. Living behind a wall of self-neglect and insecurity, it’s easy to procrastinate. Remember, a thousand mile journey doesn’t just start with the first step – the first step is the most difficult. When you get beyond that, your action will transform into motivation and personal success.
Finding Success with Your Personal Budget
By now you should have the tools necessary to map out your budget – income, expenses, and your short and long term goals for the future. You can get as creative as you like with funneling monies into various goals.
- Delegate funds. Get a portion of your paycheck direct deposited into other savings accounts, and label them with the appropriate goal. Ex: “Education fund” “Vacation fund” or “New car fund.”
- Use your time wisely. For most people, the most productive time of the day is between 9 and 11 a.m. Use that time to earn money or in some way work actively toward your personal financial goals.
- Find budget software or book that works for you. Part of what makes math so boring for most people is that it’s essentially black and white. Spruce up your financial endeavors a bit by adding colors and using interesting and fun printables. You’ll find vibrant and classic spreadsheet printables all over the internet.
Personal budgeting doesn’t have to be difficult, when you break down the big steps to smaller ones, and arm yourself with the knowledge you need to build your financial skills, you’ll feel more confident saving for your future.