Being disciplined when it comes to personal finance budgeting is a key component for anyone seeking financial freedom. Taking control of your finances is the first step to starting down the road to building the life you always wanted and the quickest and easiest way to do this is with a budget. The most critical part of the personal budgeting journey is the emotional and mental side of the equation. Why?
Our behavior with money is the reason most of us get into financial problems in the first place. Our own wants over ride our common sense and before we know it we have a house full of stuff that we end up paying for twice over. Many financial experts say that personal finance is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent math.
This is where the household budget comes into play. In this day and age the great majority of people have no idea how much money they make each month let alone where the money goes once they cash their pay check. Before long this behavior catches up with everyone and they are in perpetual catch up mode when it comes to paying bills and meeting their financial needs. A budget, if done honestly, allows you to see exactly how much money is coming in and not only how much is being spent but also what it is being spent on.
Once you see what you have been spending money on you can come to grips with the bad behavior that has gotten you, and so many others, into a financial mess. Eating out two or three nights a week, going out to lunch everyday, that morning visit to the coffee shop, they all add up and chances are once you look over your written budget you will find many areas where expenditures are a little to high and are breaking the budget.
Here are four personal finance budgeting secrets to help keep a new budget on track.
1. Probably the hardest part of keeping a budget is keeping track of daily expenditures. One way to do this is to keep a small log book or ledger where you can keep track of your daily expenses.
2. Before going grocery shopping it is a good idea to make a list of the things you need. Check the fridge, the cupboards, and the pantry to make sure you aren’t buying stuff you already have. Stick to the list once at the store and do not buy things not on the list.
3. Going to the store just to do some shopping is one of the easiest ways to suffer from an impulse purchase. Nothing will destroy a well thought out budget quite like an impulse purchase.
4. For large purchases over $300 or more it is a good idea to step back and wait a day or two before committing. Once given the chance to think it over chances are you will realize you don’t really need it.
Personal finance budgeting is about taking responsibility for your money and hunting down and killing those behaviors that are costing you money. The beauty of the budget is it shows you exactly how your behavior with your money is affecting your financial situation.