Making a Budget and Sticking to It
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Making a Budget and Sticking to It
The good news is that if you create a simple budget and continue to use it to track your spending and income, you can create a sustainable path to financial responsibility. That being said, not all budgets are successful, and if you find that yours isn’t working for you, you should adjust and try again. Budgets can be impacted by many factors, including unexpected and irregular expenses. You can also get tripped by your expenses outstripping your income on a regular basis.
Things To Know
- A successful budget can create a path to financial responsibility.
- A budget may fail if it isn’t based on realistic assumptions.
- Irregular income or expenses can make budgeting more challenging, but not impossible.
Why budgets fail
Budgets can make your life easier, but not all budgets are workable or end up working. In some cases, budgets fail because they aren’t realistic. It would be nice, for example, if you could go to five different grocery stores to get the best deal and use all the coupons that you have to their best advantage, but realistically, that won’t happen. So that means you should add some money into your grocery budget; otherwise you will spend more than you’ve planned.
Another reason budgets fail is not keeping up with them consistently and adjusting for current circumstances. If you made a budget six months ago and haven’t looked at it since that time, the budget won’t work since you aren’t using it. By actively adjusting the budget and tracking your expenses, you’ll have a better chance of success.
Dealing with irregular expenses and income
It can be hard enough to keep up with a budget when you have regular, predictable income and expenses. If you are in a situation where you have irregular expenses and income, it can make it that much tougher. However, it isn’t impossible if you plan carefully.
If you are in a sales job and get commissions as part of your income or work in a profession where you get tips, you’ll experience some income irregularity. Irregular expenses can also come up that can be difficult to budget for. In these cases, it is good to have some room in your budget perhaps by budgeting for lower income than you think might receive in a month, then adding the extra in if you get it. On the expense side, you could include a category for miscellaneous expenses or save more in case such expenses do occur.
What if you’ve done everything and you are still behind?
It can be difficult if you feel like you’ve made a good faith effort and your budget doesn’t balance, that there are still more expenses than income. In that case, you may have to make some hard choices.
These choices could include getting a second job, taking on a side gig, moving to a house or apartment with a lower rent or mortgage, or even renting out a room in your house or moving in with family members. Or perhaps there are state or federal programs you might qualify for that could help reduce or supplement your income.
