How To Keep Your Budget Running Smoothly - Money Tip Tuesday

When it comes to budgeting, how many of us get started, work through it for a few months, and then stop using it altogether? What is it about budgeting that is particularly difficult to stick with?

If you’re struggling with maintaining a budget for longer than a few weeks or months, there are various ways to keep that budget running for years.

Links:

• Check out our Goal Builder tool to help automate saving
• Watch out Budgeting 101 webinar
• Triangle Financial Planning Services
• Check out TCU University for more financial education tips and resources! 
• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! 
• Learn more about Triangle Credit Union
•  

Transcript:

Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal podcast.   

We make budgets to improve our financial situation. And they only work if they’re maintained.  

Putting together the budget is the first step and usually the easiest step but after that, sticking to it over a worthwhile period is the real challenge.     

There are many reasons why budgets fail. Lack of discipline, lifestyle changes, emergencies, and disorganization can all contribute to losing control of a budget.   

With the right strategies, you can turn your failing budget into a successful one that helps you reach your financial goals.   

Here are a few ways to ensure your budget gets the attention it deserves.   

1. Set clear financial goals—the more precise, the better. By setting clear short-term and long-term goals, you’ll know exactly what goal to work towards, providing a clear direction and adequate motivation to achieve it.  
2. Create a budgeting schedule. Set aside a little bit of time each day or week to review your budget. Make this your time to focus on your finances. If you want a budget to work, you must pay regular attention to it. Be consistent, show up, and make your budget a priority. 
3. Track your expenses. Keep a consistent and detailed record of every expense you make. Tracking expenses will keep you aware of where your money is going and can help you highlight spending trends that need to be adjusted or tweaked.  
4. Plan for irregular expenses. Life is unpredictable, and many things can pop up out of nowhere. Make sure you’re planning for seasonal or irregular expenses in your budget. These don’t have to be emergencies. Things like birthday gifts, wedding gifts, and shower gifts can all fall under unexpected, irregular expenses.  
5. Use budgeting tools. Various budgeting tools are available that help people put together and regularly manage their budgets. Find these tools and use them to keep your budget running like a well-oiled machine.  
6. Review and adjust regularly. The budget you put together a year ago may not be the same budget you’ll make today. Many things can change over a year, so regularly reviewing and adjusting your budget is essential. Did you get a promotion? Buy a house? Have a baby? All those life changes are significant enough to force you to review and adjust your budget to keep up with the changes in your life.  
7. Automate your savings. Set up automatic savings to keep money funneling towards healthy savings. Saving is often one of the last things people think to do, but it should be the first. Automating savings through tools like direct deposit and even goal-building tools is an easy way to make sure you’re regularly paying yourself first.
8. Stay educated. Keep your financial knowledge up to date. Research, read, listen, and learn. There are so many ways to keep informed of economic news and changes that will impact your budget. You’ll be more enabled, confident, and motivated to run and adjust your budget to improve your financial future exponentially. For news, tools, and trends, check out our vast collection of webinars and financial articles at TCU University and explore the many financial planning services on our website.   

Staying on top of your budget can be challenging, but with the right strategies and discipline, you can manage your finances effectively.   

If there are any other tips or topics you'd like us to cover, let us know at tcupodcast@trianglecu.org. Like and follow our Making Money Personal FB and IG page, and look for our sponsor, Triangle Credit Union, on social media to share your thoughts.   

Thanks for listening to today's Money Tip Tuesday. Check out our other tips and episodes on the Making Money Personal podcast.   

Have a great day!