5 tips to staying on a budget

I'm here today to admit that I have somewhat of a spending problem #thereisaidit

I can be a really good saver, but I can also be a really good spender and lately, spending has been my middle name. The hubby and I had a talk about it and we both agreed we need to spend less (mostly me, but it's nice to include him in the problem too) We thankfully do not have any credit card debt but it would be nice to spend less and put some money into savings.

Here's some ways I'm going to stay on budget in 2018


{ONE} - Track Expenses

Oh my gosh, doing this right after the holidays probably wasn't the best idea, but it totally showed me how frivolous I was being with our money! After listing out all of the extra purchases we made, I also wrote down our monthly expenses - things that we cannot change. I realize the problem area here is the spending on lots of "extras" and I'm going to do my hardest to stop


{TWO} - The Envelope System

I blogged all about my envelope system that I use to keep track of my monthly spending - you can read all about it here - this is totally working for me.

{THREE} - Meal Plan

I have been really good about meal planning for the past year, but it's usually just with dinner. I need to branch out and start including breakfast/lunch in there too.  I also usually only meal plan through Thursday because Friday is pizza night and Saturday we usually eat out (sometimes Sunday too!) that has gotten way out of control and I need to start planning weekend meals.

There's tons of meal planning printables on Pinterest which can be super helpful!

via

{FOUR} - Make Lists and stick to them!!

I can tell you right now that when I show up to the store without a list, I buy whatever the heck I want. I don't know why this happens, it just does.  Somehow running to Target for toilet paper, ends up with me purchasing $100 worth of stuff I did not need (I know I'm not alone here)

When I have a list, I am more determined to stick to it (with the occasional extra purchases)

So if I only need lightbulbs, toilet paper, dog food, that's what I need to write down and those are the only things I need to buy.



{FIVE} - Just Say No

Sometimes, I'm going to just have to say "no" and that's OK.  I'm sorry, but no I cannot go out to dinner for the 2nd time this week, or no, I'm sorry I can't go out shopping. I need to learn to spend within our means and not over-splurge.



So there you have it - 5 ways I'm trying to really stay on budget in the new year. What do you do if you stick to a budget?

Don't forget tomorrow is our first installment of 2018 Girl Chat!! We would love for you to link up and share some reintroductions!!

*linking up with Jessi's Design & Lindsays Sweet World