Howdy Y'all!
So as I stressed a lot in my first introduction post, money management is VERY important. This is what is used in order to buy anything you want, from bills to luxury items!
There are many ways to manage your budget and save money so I will go over a couple that worked for me.
Step 1:
The first thing to do before putting these techniques into action is to write down exactly what you want to save up for and what the budget is. This can be anything from rent to a new gaming system. Every month I would write down the amount of each item that I wanted to put money towards. The normal things were utilities, rent, gas, groceries; but occasionally I would have a date night or items for luxury rather than necessity. When it came to the monthly things I would print out or draw the calendar for the month and write down the bill plus how much it would cost. This helped a lot when it came to paying for each item without being broke afterwards.
For instance each month rent was due the first three days, electricity and phone bill were a week later, and by the third week the insurance and cable were due. This left the fourth week with no bills to pay. With it written out I could see how much on average I would have left over each week to put into savings, what I could put towards other bills if I knew we would be short the following week, and what I had for groceries or fun. My husband works a pretty set schedule so we could always figure out how much he would bring home each week. But we also had to save in case he got sick or had to miss work.
Tip: When it comes to bigger bills, such as rent, save a little each week instead of putting one or two paychecks together. We first used to take an entire week and half of pay to pay towards our rent but that would mean we would have no money at certain times of the money which is a scary feeling. If the car would have broken down or we needed diapers we would have no money to put towards it due to this method. So now we do the each week method. What that means is we take the amount we owe and divide it out so we can pay it slowly with each paycheck.
Step 2:
Once you have the budget in mind make sure to have it hanging somewhere in the house! I had a calendar in our kitchen that would have the bills written down on the day it was due. This helped with making sure I did not forget to pay the bill as well as reminding me of what had to be paid before we ran out to get TacoBell. In our bedroom we had a poster board up with our goals for 10 years. I set it for 10 years because I wanted to be sure to include HUGE goals.
On that list it included trips we wanted to take, buying our first house, paying off things, and getting married. You do not have to write one for that far out. I have seen some that were only a year out. You can even have multiple lists out and about. Our poster also included the traditional thermometer gauge you see at fundraisers that mark each dollar amount saved. This helped us a ton when it came to buying our house! We would treat ourselves after each notch was checked off with a small dinner to pat ourselves on the back for making it that far.
Having your goals and budget out in front of you when your doing you everyday life stuff helps remind you of what is important! Our calendar didn't have the amount due but had initials of each bill, so billy may not know what it reads but I would and not have to worry about nosey people.
Method 1: Envelopes
This is the easiest method for those who want to budget for short term items or have the dreaded issue of spending money they see in their accounts. The way this method works is after each paycheck you set a certain amount aside and put it in an envelope. If you get your pay check direct deposited you just pull the set amount out of your account. You put the envelope in a secret location or lock box so that its safe and your not tempted to spend the floating cash. This is also good for younger people who get paid allowances or do not have a bank account.
I tried this method for a very short time and found that 1) it made me uneasy having cash just sitting in my apartment and 2) I would forget about the cash and then have to spend hours looking for it. This works great though for those who want to buy luxury items, or who want to have the ability to be able to use their cards without the worry of over spending because they forgot they were saving a certain amount for something.
Method 2: Separate Bank Accounts
This method is a great for long term goals and for people with bank accounts. The way this works is with each pay check you take a set amount that you need to save and move it to either a savings account or another bank account. Moving the money into another account helps so you do not over swipe your card and you do not have to worry about floating cash around. To open a separate account you can try to do it online but I recommend going up to your bank. Make sure to check your bank terms and conditions. Certain banks have limits on withdrawals from saving accounts.
I use this method since we get direct deposit. I have ones for trips, big budgets, and bills. With everything being online this makes it also easier instead of taking the cash from method one and having to deposit it.
Method 3: Giving to someone trust worthy to hold onto
This one is a little uncommon. You can either transfer the money or do the envelope but this is for extreme circumstances where you can not save a dime and have a problem not spending the money. The person has to be very trust worthy and if you even question it you can always have it in writing that the money is yours and they will not spend it.
In Conclusion:
These are the three methods I have had to use before and the ones I found worked the best. This will be the first step in order to make it in today's economy. Money makes the world go round and if you are able to save now and put these habits into action now they will help you for the future!
If you have any other methods you have used in the past or have any comments on the ones I listed here, feel free to leave a comment below!
Thanks and see y'all again soon!
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