A New Year, a new start – this is often an attitude that coincides with that time of year when we turn the page on our calendar year. This is also the same time frame for when people all over the world make resolutions about how they will improve their lives during the next year. One of these resolutions area that usually makes an appearance of their lists are those pertaining to financial matters – spending less, saving more, and so on.
While perhaps you have tried to stick to a budget this year as well as during your holiday shopping – sometimes we can overspend especially around this celebratory time of year and budgeting skills can be tested.
Either way, now can be the perfect time to revisit your budget and look ahead to the new year. If you are planning on making any resolutions this year – why not add your financial well-being to that list. I know our family will be reassessing our spending and once again trying to improve this area as we move into 2015. Here are some ideas I think will help us make this year’s budget stick.
1) Take your time
One strategy that I’ve read about that makes perfect sense when designing your new budget is to take your time. Knowing that you don’t need to compile the whole budget all at once, and you can take several days to achieve the best budget for your current finances is important. As with most things in our lives, doing things in manageable steps is a lot less overwhelming – and when devising a budget you should try to de-stress the situation as much as possible.
2) Gather your documents
Next up is to make sure you have all of your financial figures, including your salaries, as well as all of the outgoing bills/payments you have. There is likely to be a lot of numbers to include, and this is why you shouldn’t expect to have this initial part completed all in one sitting. Another tool you will need to also have at your disposal is the method for how you will compile your budget. Will you use a spreadsheet ? An online budgeting tool that continues to help you track your spending ?,etc.
3) Fine-tune your figures
After you have included all of the numbers and added up all of the totals for cash-flow and payments, next is to look for ways you can cut back on your expenses. This step can involve a variety of possible actions. For example, will you look to increase your savings or will you focus on paying down your debt? – what is your goal for the months to come? In order to improve these actions, you will want to look for areas where you can spend less, whether that is on food, hydro, or other lifestyle expenses. Other times, there will be current expenses that you can cut out all together, if you should choose.
4) Recalculated your budget
For this step, you can now redo your budget with the new estimated totals. Hopefully by this point, you are noticing a newer budget that will give you a clear picture of how you can continue to move forward with your financial goals for 2015.
LET TECHNOLOGY HELP YOU!
If you are looking for an online budgeting tools or software that can help you improve your budget as well as your efficiency over time, Mint, offers a free budgeting service that could be exactly what you need to keep this new year’s resolution.
Mint allows you to create budgets that calculate your average spending by identifying your spending patterns. Not only does it categorize your budgeting areas, it also sends you notifications. These reminders not only inform you of when a payment is coming due, they also let you know when you’ve made a large purchase and as a result your budget balance may have been thrown off.
What I really like about this tool is that it helps you to track which of your specific spending habits are linked to how much – or how little money you have left by the end of the month or the time frame you are working from. This can also enable you to learn from your mistakes and try and correct them, so you can save more the next time. Mint’s program seems to understand that no one manages their finances perfectly all the time, yet instead view it as an ongoing process, with steps forward and sometimes steps back. Over time however, with more knowledge of how your spending decisions affect every aspect of your finances, you can improve your overall budgeting skills and minimize the financial setbacks you will have.
Ultimately, I feel that the concept of Mint, is very much aligned with the concept of breaking your budget down into manageable steps. As 2014 comes to an end and we are looking to ways to make our new year’s resolutions more achievable this year, perhaps using an online budgeting tool, like Mint will be the aid you are looking for to make a greater difference this time around.
Good luck with the Resolutions this year!!!
