Does the word “budget” make you cringe ? The way to get around that, though, is to reframe how you think about budgeting.<ul><li>Budgets need to be sustainable .</li><li>It’s mandatory to remain consistent </li><li>Subscriptions — They will eat away at your finances if you let them.</li><li>Luxuries — whatever lands in the “pay someone else to do it because I don’t wanna” category.</li><li>Shopping — Impulse buys are hard to fight .</li><li><a href="https://mint.intuit.com/">Mint </a>— all accounts can be linked to Mint, and Mint has the option to set budgets.</li><li><a href="https://budgetbakers.com/">Wallet from BudgetBakers.com </a>— Have the ability to share finances with others to maintain accounts with multiple people.</li></ul>

Budgeting 

<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*3JAyFwCR7W9mjFF0RMtXWw" width="680" height="907"></figure><img alt="Zwee Nelson" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*gxfHCjoOoQahuuOXtBxvRQ" width="28" height="28">Does the word “budget” make you cringe? The thing about budgets is it’s limiting, and the fact that I have to limit anything when it comes to the money I make makes my skin crawl. The way to get around that, though, is to reframe what you think of when it comes to budgeting.Here’s some things to keep in mind:<UL><LI>Budgets need to be sustainable. This is not an all or nothing situation.</LI><LI>Budgets don’t require a ton of administrative work.</LI><LI>It’s mandatory to remain consistent when it comes to budgeting in order to see any positive results.</LI></UL>When I say a budget needs to be sustainable, I mean taking a good hard look at the things that take priority (food, utilities, child care if applicable), and removing the things that you have as convenience (for instance, I had lawn care that would cost me $150 a month — mainly because I hate mowing the lawn). A budget cannot be sustainable if you do something radical, such as remove a huge chunk from the grocery budget, or vow to only take a shower once a week to lower the water bill. So first things first — what can be removed?<UL><LI>Subscriptions — things like a monthly carwash, paying for a gym membership, apps that you really don’t use. They will eat away at your finances if you let them.</LI><LI>Luxuries — sorry, but that daily Starbucks run or getting food delivered from your favorite Thai restaurant isn’t happening anymore. You’ll have to do your nails at home, or clean out your own gutters, or whatever lands in the “pay someone else to do it because I don’t wanna” category.</LI><LI>Shopping — I’m so bad about this. With the Amazon or Wayfair apps, it’s easy to just “buy now” when I see something that I want. Well, it’s time to put a lock on it. My best advice? Hide it in a folder deep in your phone so you forget it exists. Impulse buys are hard to fight.</LI></UL>Budgets use to require someone to put together spreadsheets, or lists of all the bills, or massive calendars with due dates — thank goodness we’re in a world now where there’s so many apps that can help us get our stuff together!<UL><LI><a href="https://mint.intuit.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Mint</a> — I’m a huge fan of the Mint app! I have so many different accounts from savings and checking, to my mortgage and investment accounts, and they can all be linked to Mint so I can look at everything at once! Mint has the option to setting budgets and spend limits for particular categories. It’ll also tell you things like your credit score, how much your spending is from month to month, what subscriptions or utilities have increased/decreased, and what bills you’ve paid.</LI><LI><a href="https://budgetbakers.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Wallet from BudgetBakers.com</a> — another way to see the big picture and manage your finances, however this one has more visuals, and you have the ability to share finances with others to maintain accounts with multiple people.</LI></UL>Remaining constant is a HUGE component to making a budget work. Circling back to sustainability — you can’t make a radical change and say that you’ll only use $50 for groceries a week when you’re feeding a family of 4. That’s going to fail quicker than an extreme New Years Resolution (no, losing 20 pounds in a week is not possible). Instead, finding ways to make groceries cheaper is a better solution than giving yourself a limit. Keep other money saving ideas in mind:<UL><LI>Need glassware, dishes, basic cleaning supplies? Visit your local Dollar Tree, Dollar General, or whatever dollar store near you. My entire dish collection is from the Dollar General, plus 4 mugs and these awesome mason jar drinking cups with handles. If you want to get crazy with it, there’s lots of recipes on how to make your own cleaning supplies on Pinterest — but I can’t stand the smell of vinegar.</LI><LI>For groceries, try an Aldi — personally, I cannot have dairy or gluten. Aldi carries gluten-free and diary-free options. No subscription required like for Sam’s Club or Costco. Eggs, canned goods, paper goods, lots of veggies and fruits, and cereal. At a regular grocery store, for my son and I, groceries would cost somewhere between 175–200 a week. At Aldi, I get it down to 100 or less. If you don’t have an Aldi, try a Save-A-Lot or whatever local money-conscious grocery store near you. It can make a big difference (I’ll share my staples grocery list sometime).</LI><LI>If you have kids, you know they outgrow EVERYTHING. Check out the Goodwill or Savers near you. Great places for things like pants, shorts, shirts, and especially coats. Sometimes if you’re lucky, you might find a good pair of shoes, too!</LI></UL>In the end, a budget is supposed to help you in the long run. It’s not a race, it’s a marathon, so that you’ll eventually be able to save some money for things like a fancy coffee or going out to do something fun.

Does the word “budget” make you cringe? The thing about budgets is it’s limiting, and the fact that I have to limit anything when it comes to the money I make makes my skin crawl. The way to get…

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

Does the word “budget” make you cringe ? The thing about budgets is it’s limiting, and the fact that I have to limit anything when it comes to the money I make makes my skin crawl . The way to get around that, though, is to reframe what you think of when it comes to budgeting.

Here’s some things to keep in mind:

<ul><li>Budgets need to be sustainable . This is not an all or nothing situation. </li><li>Budgets don’t require a ton of administrative work. </li><li>It’s mandatory to remain consistent when it comes to budgeting in order to see any positive results. </li> </ul>

When I say a budget needs to be sustaina ble , I mean taking a good hard look at the things that take priority (food, utilities, child care if applicable), and removing the things that you have as convenience (for instance, I had lawn care that would cost me $150 a month — mainly because I hate mowing the lawn). A budget cannot be sustainable if you do something radical, such as remove a huge chunk from the grocery budget, or vow to only take a shower once a week to lower the water bill. So first things first — what can be removed?

<ul><li>Subscriptions — things like a monthly carwash, paying for a gym membership, apps that you really don’t use. They will eat away at your finances if you let them. </li><li>Luxuries — sorry, but that daily Starbucks run or getting food delivered from your favorite Thai restaurant isn’t happening anymore. You’ll have to do your nails at home, or clean out your own gutters, or whatever lands in the “pay someone else to do it because I don’t wanna” category. </li><li>Shopping — I’m so bad about this. With the Amazon or Wayfair apps, it’s easy to just “buy now” when I see something that I want. Well, it’s time to put a lock on it. My best advice? Hide it in a folder deep in your phone so you forget it exists. Impulse buys are hard to fight . </li> </ul>

Budgets use to require someone to put together spreadsheets, or lists of all the bills, or massive calendars with due dates — thank goodness we’re in a world now where there’s so many apps that can help us get our stuff together!

<ul><li><a href="https://mint.intuit.com/">Mint </a>— I’m a huge fan of the Mint app! I have so many different accounts from savings and checking, to my mortgage and investment accounts, and they can all be linked to Mint so I can look at everything at once! Mint has the option to setting budgets and spend limits for particular categories. It’ll also tell you things like your credit score, how much your spending is from month to month, what subscriptions or utilities have increased/decreased, and what bills you’ve paid. </li><li><a href="https://budgetbakers.com/">Wallet from BudgetBakers.com </a>— another way to see the big picture and manage your finances, however this one has more visuals, and you have the ability to share finances with others to maintain accounts with multiple people. </li> </ul>

Remaining constant is a HUGE component to making a budget work. Circling back to sustainability — you can’t make a radical change and say that you’ll only use $50 for groceries a week when you’re feeding a family of 4. That’s going to fail quicker than an extreme New Years Resolution (no, losing 20 pounds in a week is not possible). Instead, finding ways to make groceries cheaper is a better solution than giving yourself a limit. Keep other money saving ideas in mind:

<ul><li>Need glassware, dishes, basic cleaning supplies? Visit your local Dollar Tree, Dollar General, or whatever dollar store near you. My entire dish collection is from the Dollar General, plus 4 mugs and these awesome mason jar drinking cups with handles. If you want to get crazy with it, there’s lots of recipes on how to make your own cleaning supplies on Pinterest — but I can’t stand the smell of vinegar. </li><li>For groceries, try an Aldi — personally, I cannot have dairy or gluten. Aldi carries gluten-free and diary-free options. No subscription required like for Sam’s Club or Costco. Eggs, canned goods, paper goods, lots of veggies and fruits, and cereal. At a regular grocery store, for my son and I, groceries would cost somewhere between 175–200 a week. At Aldi, I get it down to 100 or less. If you don’t have an Aldi, try a Save-A-Lot or whatever local money-conscious grocery store near you. It can make a big difference (I’ll share my staples grocery list sometime). </li><li>If you have kids, you know they outgrow EVERYTHING. Check out the Goodwill or Savers near you. Great places for things like pants, shorts, shirts, and especially coats. Sometimes if you’re lucky, you might find a good pair of shoes, too! </li> </ul>

In the end, a budget is supposed to help you in the long run. It’s not a race, it’s a marathon, so that you’ll eventually be able to save some money for things like a fancy coffee or going out to do something fun.

Real Talk: The Budget

Budgeting

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