Relationships

How To Stick to a Family Budget

By Amanda of The Naked Ledger who is contributing her financial wisdom to the Guide to Everything weekly

1. Set a worthy goal.

There is nothing more boring or painful than saving money simply for the sake of saving money. I know this because I’ve tried to do it myself countless number of times. Sure, I simply SHOULD save money for the future because technically I can (ANYONE can), but that goal is too nebulous to ever force me to put my plan into action. But stop buying fast food for a month and put that savings toward a trip to Italy? I AM SO THERE. The future goal has to be important enough to you and your family that you’re willing to make a sacrifice in the short term to get it. Pick a goal now. Ready, set, goal.

2. Start with ten percent

Assuming you know where you’re money has been disappearing (if not, read last week’s column!) you might already know exactly where you should be cutting back. But if not, it’s good to start with ten percent. For example, if you added everything up last month and spent $600 on groceries, try spending ten percent less this month and put that $60 in your savings account. If you make small changes like this in multiple budget categories, the savings can really add up and the reduction in spending isn’t as noticeable or painful as you might think.

3. Leave the kids at home.

If you have the opportunity to shop WITHOUT YOUR CHILDREN, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to the store. If you can wait until your spouse can watch the kids or go shopping on your lunch break, you will undoubtedly save money. Not to mention that when you don’t have feisty little ones hanging off you and begging you for every little thing (my kids beg me for candy every time we’re at the store even though I’ve broken down and bought it for them exactly NEVER), you might also find the time to stop and read trashy magazines in the checkout aisle, and therefore save money on that impulse US Weekly buy (score!)

4. Brush yourself off and start again.

Budgeting and dieting share many things in common, the worst of which is how easy it is to fall off the wagon. But just like with a diet, the worst thing you can do is to adopt an all or nothing attitude like, Well, I didn’t stick to my budget this week, so SCREW IT! I’m going to Sephora! We can all agree that attitude doesn’t help. What does help is to admit that sticking to a budget is hard and that your family is a work-in-progress. Brush yourself off and start again the next day. Don’t let bad spending habits snowball out of control, just forgive yourself the indiscretion and get back on track.

5. Shop less often.

I realize you’ve likely heard this before, but the fewer opportunities you take to spend money, the less you’ll spend. I never used to think I had a shopping problem until I noticed that our monthly credit card bill (the one we pay off every month!) varied in direct proportion to how busy I was at home with writing and work. The busier I am, the less we spend. Every day that I put off shopping because I just didn’t have time to get to the store was one less day that I spent money. So now I go out of my way to intentionally shop less often and find it significantly easier to stick to my budget. Simply keeping busy is saving my family over $200 a month. Italy here we come!

I’d love to read your comments about what helps keep your family on a budget.

Photo source: Depositphotos/kiyyah

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Tina

15 years ago

I had to realize how much it frustrated my husband when I went over. Not just annoyed but hurt him and made him feel like I didn’t care about our family finances and how we were doing. (He’s the money person in the family, and spends so much time working on the budget, the best way to get the debts we have paid off, the best way to invest what we do, etc.–I joke I married him to pay the bills because I hate that and he married me to shop because he hates that.) I realized I was being… Read more »

Deb

Well, the economy has me pretty freaked out right now, so that is a huge incentive for me. My other incentive-izing goal is a new computer once all our credit card debt is paid off, and then once that is paid off please-oh-please can I have Merry Maids come twice a month? Since scraping other people’s dried pee off the toilets is not fulfilling (there. I said it), this is also a huge incentive for me. Plus, one of these years I’d like to just SPEND our tax refund rather than putting toward the credit cards. That is, assuming there… Read more »

Scissorbill

Cash works for us. It’s impossible to overspend when you use all cash!

Max

We define a weekly and a daily budget (equal to weekly budget divided 7) and do our best not to spend more than we’re “allowed” to. This also builds trust because we both know each other’s expenses and are mindful of each other. And it takes us not more than a minute a day to remember all expenses and write them down (no need to classify them if you don’t exceed the budget).

Budgeting Mom

Thanks for these tips. These are really hard times and it has really taught me how to stick to a budget. I don’t usually go to the mall anymore. The more I go there, the more I am inclined to spend. Hope there will be better days ahead.

Anita Alvarez

8 years ago

We make as many meals as we can at home. That really helps us to save. But I understand if eating out is important to a person, then you should make room for that in your budget. To my husband, making home improvements is really important. He’s always wanting to replace a door, spruce up the place with paint, etc. This past year, I agreed to upgrading our wall insulation, because we live in an older home. The difference is incredible, and we’re saving quite a bit on energy bills.

How To Stick to a Family Budget

1. Set a worthy goal.

2. Start with ten percent

3. Leave the kids at home.

4. Brush yourself off and start again.

5. Shop less often.

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