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The Reverse Budget: Why Normal Budgeting Sucks And What To Do Instead - The Money Habit
The Reverse Budget
A Reverse Budget looks at your current lifestyle and makes slow improvements over time until things are sufficiently better.
We look at how much we are spending eating out, commuting and daily indulgences and see the past quarter trends using your credit card and bank account spending.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
A Monthly Budget For Your Money
No matter how little or how much money you earn, creating a monthly budget is one of the most important aspects of managing your finances. What gets measured gets managed.
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The Envelope System
The Envelope system is a way to track your variable expenses like food, entertainment, and drinks.
This method, preferably used weekly, allocates a certain amount in each category in labeled envelopes (food, drinks, movies, etc.). Once the envelope is empty, you are done spending in that category.
How to Create a Good Budget
The principles that make a good budget, something you can stick to:
- Being Realistic: Being too strict is a recipe for failure.
- Making Adjustments: A budget is not set in stone, but a fluid thing.
- A Team Sport: If you live with a partner or spouse, you have to agree mutually on how to budget the financials.
- Expect the Unexpected: Keep an emergency fund, ideally 3-6 months of necessary expenses.
- Budgeting the Expected: Certain upcoming expenses need to be budgeted in advance, like property tax, holiday shopping, etc.
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Key Ideas
The 50/20/30 budgeting method
With the 50/20/30 budgeting method:
- 50% of your monthly spending goes toward essentials - your home, your food, etc.
- 20% of your monthly spending ...
Debt payments
Debt payments may look confusing when you add it to the savings column. But the easiest way to build up a savings balance is not to have your money go toward debt. Once your debt is paid off, you can increase the savings.
Reducing your essentials
Play around with your monthly budget to see where you can reduce your monthly spending:
- You could contact your internet company to get a discount.
- You can clip coupons and use rebate apps to spend less on your monthly groceries.
- You could set aside less for medical expenses if you have an emergency fund.
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Key Idea
When budgeting comes in handy
- You have no idea where your money is going.
- You’re chronically overspending.
- You’re not saving any money.
- You struggle to afford the things you really want.
- You...