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November 16, 2018 · Leave a Comment

7 Steps To Get Your Budget Back On Track

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Budget· Budget Tips· Debt Free· Debt Free Tips· Frugal Living

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Occasionally on our debt-free journey things go off the rails.  Whether it’s because we had a month that we had unexpected car repairs, or because I hit a funk over the summer, getting off track with our budget happens from time to time.  But the end game of being completely free from debt is the same no matter what part of our journey we’re on, and so I have to get back on track with our budget.  Here are the 7 steps I use to get my budget back on track after a financial setback.

7 Steps To Get Your Budget Back On Track

 

Stop Excessive Spending

Whether you started spending in cash, on your debit card, or you started swiping your credit card again, it’s time to reign it in.  It’s hard to get a complete picture of your finances again when you’re spending excessively.  It won’t be easy, but keeping your long term financial goals in mind will help.

 

Evaluate the Damage

Look back at your bank statements, and even credit card statements.  Did you stop contributing to any sinking funds?  Did you reduce your savings?  Did you add any more debt?  It’s hard to work towards your financial goals if you don’t have a complete picture of how far off track you got.

 

Set A Budget

Go back to your basics and set a budget.  I personally love using the You Need A Budget* method.  Going back to your priorities and commitments simplifies your budget, making it easier to get back on track.  Their online budgeting software* makes it super easy to start fresh!  It does come at a cost of $84 per year, but in my opinion, it’s well worth it!  If you’d like to try their method, you can get a free month of YNAB by signing up here*.  What’s there to lose?

Once you have your budget, keep on top of it daily or weekly.  If things change at the beginning of the month, you’ll be able to easily modify the budget for the rest of the month by staying on top of it.  This is much better than trying to do damage control to your budget at the end of the month.

Prioritize Spending

This is where it’s time to get serious.  Look at every single expense that you’ve got throughout the month, and compare that to your income.  Start making some decisions about what could go if you have a month that’s tighter than others.  And as always, if things aren’t adding up, it’s okay to say no to certain things.

 

Set Savings Goals

Aside from your long term financial goals, what are some of your short term savings goals?  Now is the time to set some shorter financial goals to help you feel the momentum of gaining towards your long term goals.  For instance, if your long term goal is to buy a house, a short term goal could be to save $10,000 in the next 10 months towards a down payment.  To help keep track of your savings progress, use a savings tracker.

Use Cash to Stick to Your Budget

And stick to those cash budgets!  If you got off track by swiping your debit or credit cards again, leave them at home.  I won’t lie; this is the hardest step.  It requires you to remain focused and disciplined.  To help stay focused, have a no spend month.  Don’t be afraid to acknowledge the small wins when they happen, and of course, celebrate the big financial successes you have.

 

Stay Focused, But Keep Grace in Mind

When you’re feeling discouraged, remember your long term financial commitments to yourself.  At the same time, don’t be so hard on yourself.  If this particular season of life is filled with repeatedly using and replenishing your emergency fund for unexpected repairs on your car and replacing your dishwasher that had its last straw, then don’t focus on not being able to pay down as much on your debt.  Instead, focus on having the cash on hand to pay for these repairs, rather than adding to your debt.

 

What are the steps you take to get your budget back on track?  I’d love to hear in the comments below!

7 Steps To Get Your Budget Back On Track

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makingcentsmatter

makingcentsmatter
Only you can determine what your financial goals a Only you can determine what your financial goals are. If that means you're adding money to your savings account, or contributing to your retirement, while you are paying off debt, then so be it!⁠
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Do what looks right for you and your personal finances.⁠
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The trick to meal planning is to make it predictab The trick to meal planning is to make it predictable. But predictable doesn't mean the same thing week to week. You could have a chicken meal, a soup meal, a pasta meal, a leftovers meal, a family favorite meal, and so on.⁠
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We always try to go with themed days, but some weeks are so hectic the theme is literally "fast". Thankfully that hasn't been the case lately.⁠
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I can only hear about my extended warranty I never I can only hear about my extended warranty I never purchased so many times. 😣⁠
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March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠ .⁠ House: $51 March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠
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House: $511.13⁠
Citi: $0 – this has a residual $3 in interest charges since payoff, due in April⁠
D NelNet: $100⁠
K NelNet: $100⁠
K Chase: $600⁠
Explorer: $336.27⁠
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Total Paid in 2021: $8,258.84⁠
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Extra Payment: There isn’t one this month since we were $25 away from zeroing out the budget for our February 15th monthly paycheck. That $25, and monies left from our January 15th paycheck, covered our OOP costs for Hubs’ filling. We also have some savings goals coming up that need to be met, making our debt payments a little lower for the time begin.⁠
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The battle for who can charge what tonight is abou The battle for who can charge what tonight is about to begin. 😬⁠
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My kids run off with my charger, plug it into one outlet 5 feet from where they found it like that particular outlet is the only one in this house, and then proceed to fight over who can charge their device first at night.⁠
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Then they get grumpy when it's their turn and it's not the proper input cable. #itwasmychargerfirst #dontlikeitgofindyourown⁠
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A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a bit in our February Budget Check-In about how much of this I think we'll owe, and you can check that out on my YouTube channel if you're interested, but I wanted to say here...⁠
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To the mother with little kids struggling to get your finances in order, it will get better. I wish I could have heard those words years ago.⁠
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Nearly 10 years ago we were facing a $1,400 out-of-pocket portion for A's Phase 1 orthodontic work (I looked it up after I uploaded the video... we had a $1,400 portion).⁠
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It was a lot of money for us at the time. Our kids were 6, 2, and 3 months old. I don't think we even had $500 in savings, and I just left a part-time teaching job because it wasn't paying the part-time daycare bill, so paying our portion in full was just a dream I didn't think was achievable.⁠
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I was even stressing about the monthly $100 payments. We were so strapped. It was our breaking moment to start cutting costs and budgeting more effectively. We've learned a lot in that time period.⁠
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What we've learned is that it does no good to stress about it all the time. Life happens. All you can do is try to plan ahead, and if it's something that's unplanned, readjust. It won't always be easy, especially at first, but it will be worth it.⁠
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Nearly 10 years later, we are still paying off our debts. Student loans suck. But I see this bill as a reminder of how far we have come. Seeing a bill like this doesn't stress me out like it used to, and I know we can easily create a plan that can get it done and out of the way.⁠
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Will it delay our debt-free date more? Yes. But it's not worth stressing over. Life happens, readjust, and continue on down the path. It's called a journey for a reason.⁠
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It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budget It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budgeting categories are working out for the pay month.⁠
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Food is looking good this far into our paycheck, probably because miscellaneous - which includes eating out - took a hit with unexpected purchases. Pet is low for this time of the month, and Household is spot on.⁠
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Fuel looks like it'll be lower than last month (yay for weeks of snow days & delayed school starts), and Therapy had one more appointment than initially planned.⁠
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Garden, Dental, Medical & Propane are not included in these estimates so far because those expenses are coming from sinking funds. Once we're done with the month and review the budget, I'll move over the total amount spent from those sinking funds.⁠
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How's your paycheck budget coming along?⁠
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Automating your finances makes saving money and bu Automating your finances makes saving money and budgeting more convenient, and therefore easier on you. Out of sight, out of mind, right?⁠
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What's one thing you can automate this week to make your finances easier?⁠
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Me? I'm going to set up our sinking fund transfers to automate every payday (the 15th of every month). Our bank set up a feature on their app where we can schedule savings transfers now, and I'm going to take advantage of it!⁠
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Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone a smidgen overboard this month!⁠
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I foresee a goal for March's paycheck to at out less than twice. That's where this category went awry. $99.16 of it went to eating out. 😑 Some of it was avoidable, but not all of it. Having to drive to multiple appointments in one day during snow squalls and rearranging our whole day was one of those unavoidable instances.⁠
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Tracking our expenses - much like a budget review - is vital to sticking to your budget!⁠
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#makingcentsmatter #debt #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #budgetcategories #monthlyincome #savingmoney #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom #expensetracking #budgetfail
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