We all know that you need budgeting worksheets to get your finances in order. That had been proven when the recession happened. We realized just how vulnerable we were without any budget strategy in our lives. That was sort of a wake-up call that we need to get our finances in order so we can enjoy our income more.
If you want to look back on how we spent leading up to the economic crash, we found some interesting statistics that were compiled on Shopaholicsanonymous.org. It revealed just how awful we were as spenders in general. One of the statistics lifted from a 2008 Journal of Consumer Research revealed that over 25 million Americans are compulsive shoppers. Not only that, the high credit card debt of consumers is usually caused by unnecessary purchases.
The website also gave us the solution that will help with overspending and that is budgeting and saving. The data showed on the site went as far as to mention that we need professional psychological assistance. But if you do not want to pay for professional help, a budget strategy will do just fine.
What to do when you have failed your budget momentarily
While a lot of people have started creating and implementing a budget plan in their lives, some people have found it hard to stick to it. We have a lot of people starting to change their financial lives through budgeting but there are cases wherein they falter and sometimes, that leads to the total abandonment of the budget strategy.
You see, no matter how effective you are in creating a foolproof budget plan, there are moments when you will really falter. Don’t beat up yourself too much over it because you do not want to discourage yourself to the point wherein you will give up budgeting altogether.
It is great to have a budget because it allows you to take control of your life. When you realize that you have been diverting off of the plan, that can be quite disconcerting in some way. For other people, that can lead to the complete meltdown of their budget. While that reaction is normal, you need to know that there is a way to get back on track.
Here are three tips that we have for you in case you blew up your budget plan.
-
Get over it. First and foremost, you need to stop berating yourself. You are not perfect and even if you try your hardest with a budget plan, there are cases when you will make a mistake. Just get over it and move forward. Instead of scolding yourself, why not find out why you diverted from your budget in the first place? Look into your spending habits for the past few months and try to see what you did wrong.
-
Get your groove back. Once you have identified what went wrong, you can start easing yourself back into your old groove. Take it slowly if you must. Or you can just jump back in. The latter is preferred but it is all up to you. The important thing is to get back on track again. It is tempting to throw away your budget but that will make things worse. Review your bills and see which of them had to be set aside because of the momentary diversion in your budget strategy. Pay for everything and get your financial obligations back on track. If you have to borrow from your savings or emergency fund, then do it.
-
Get back any money that you lost. When you divert from your budget plan, that usually means you overspent somewhere. If you really want to, you can get that money back. It is not necessary but if you were working on a financial goal, then you can opt to earn more or cut back on your spending. That way, you can completely get back what you lost when you faltered in your budget strategy.
Possible reasons why you got sidetracked in budgeting
Controlling your finances through a budget is a great way to keep yourself from a financial crisis. But you have to understand that there are instances when your budget can really fail. It is important for you to identify these so you can try to avoid them.
Here are 4 ways that you can be led away from your budget strategy.
-
You forgot to input a budget entry. One of the reasons for you to miss your budget plan is when you forgot to input certain entries that you need to spend on. It can be the wedding of a friend or a birthday gift that you have to purchase. If you keep letting this happen, it can add up and you could end up having a huge deficit in your budget.
-
You had an emergency situation. Another budget buster is an emergency that you did not prepare for beforehand. These emergencies are usually something that you need to spend on. So if you are not prepared for them, you may have to sacrifice some of the usual entries in your budget plan.
-
You overspent on your credit purchases. Using your credit card can be a quick way to divert from your budget. An article from USAToday.com revealed some findings from a National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) survey. According to this survey, retired individuals are racking up a huge amount of credit card debt and it is usually on unnecessary purchases. These include miscellaneous entertainment purchases. If you have to use your credit card, you need to make sure that this is a part of your budget. Do not give in to compulsive buying habits.
-
You just needed a break. The last reason why your budget strategy failed is that you decided to divert from it. This happens when you have set up a budget that is too strict or rigid. You need to make sure your budget is realistic enough and will not make you feel miserable about your finances.
How to keep yourself from falling off track your budget plan again
In case you want to keep yourself from having a problem sticking to your budget, there are some things that you can do to avoid that. We have 4 suggestions for you.
-
Always review your budget. First of all, make sure you review your budget from time to time. You may have made the perfect budget once but our priorities and spending change over time. That means you have to constantly review and change your budget to make sure that it still applies to your life.
-
Have an emergency fund. In case the unexpected happens, do not let it ruin your usual monthly budget. Put aside some money for that expense and do it before it happens. That way, you do not have to divert from your plan to accommodate the expense.
-
Monitor your credit purchases carefully. It is alright to use credit for your purchases but make sure that it is incorporated in your budget. That way, you will not be in danger of overspending.
-
Budget for breaks every now and then. It is also important to budget for rewards are entertainment purchases. According to an article from FoxBusiness.com, one of the triggers of overspending is boredom. You need to put some fun in your life to keep yourself from feeling too bored with your routine.
In the end, it is important that you do not get discouraged by mistakes that you have made on your budget strategy. People can slip from time to time and the important thing is how you recover and learn from your error.