Monday Money Minute: How do I get a handle on my spending?
This is a question we get all. of. the. time. If you find yourself with this question, you are by no means alone.
You Can Take Control
Just because you’ve been an overspender before, doesn’t mean you are stuck with it for good. Here is how to change.
The first item is to (manually) write down what you think you spend.
Go back a month and find out what you actually spent. Write that number next to your predicted number.
This is the most important part….don’t let yourself “off the hook”, be honest with yourself. If you over-spent on eating out, don’t say “well, it was stressful and I worked a lot of overnight shifts in the ED”. Instead say, “Damn, I ate out a lot, where am I eating out the most and can I cut back?”.
Write down what you will do differently. Draw a line under it.
Create your projected spending (budget) for next month or pay period.
Change the behaviours!
This might mean eating out less…I know beating up on eating out a lot is a favorite of financial planners, but let’s face it, it’s difficult to grab lunch under $15 these days. …$15 per lunch X3 times a week X48 working weeks a year = $2,160/yr and that’s just lunch.
Write down your actual spending as you go during the month, compare to the number in step 5 and see if you need to change something else.
You might be doing all you can to keep your spending low, but if you are still over budget, you might need to to refinance debt or take on extra shifts/side hustle.