Have you ever had months where you spend more than you make?
Do you know how much you spend every month?
How do you handle the months of overspending?
Do you take from savings?
Accumulate credit card debt?
Do you know you are overspending but aren´t tracking how much?
Do you feel like your money is running you instead of being in charge of your money?
Well, you are not alone.
I overspend my budget about 40% of the time and it always happens because of my food spending.
Over the past 3 years my food budget has stayed the same and yet my husband went from eating all of his lunches out to being home for COVID and eating at home each day. Inflation is up over 15% during that time and my daughter is eating more and wasting more. 5 year olds have frustrating eating habits. I have been making it work by switching to generic items, trying to cook cheaper and more filling meals (think pasta instead of steak) and shopping grocery sales.
Two months ago, I started making major changes to my eating as I work towards being in the best shape of my life by the time I turn 40 next year. My food budget has exploded during this transition absolutely devastating my budget and overspending by hundreds of dollars.
Overspending my budget is serious business because that money has to come from somewhere. I am not going to take on credit card debt so I either have to take from my travel savings or cut enough spending for the rest of the month to get back to even. This month, I could not recover and I had to take from the $500 I usually put towards my vacation savings. This is a massive bummer because $500 is a weekend away in our camper. Monthly travel and adventure is part of my dream life but so is optimal health.
Needless to say this month of money monitoring was rough but vital. I need to check in with my spending. I need to know how much I am spending on food. I need to feel the pain of overspending and having to give up a weekend trip to cover it. The internal conversation is not fun but finding myself in credit card debt or unable to pay my bills would be stressful. The financial stress I would experience by not dealing with my spending would bleed into all other parts of my life, including my relationships and how I show up with my loved ones.
Although the internal money conversation is not fun in the moment, I handle it, come up with a plan and then move on with my life.
My budget gives me the tool to handle my spending. This check in is imperative because in the process of monitoring my spending, I am also checking to see how my monthly spending is aligning with my dreams. I want to travel every month and go on summer vacations. I want to have money saved up for Christmas. I want to have an emergency savings account for unexpected expenses (like my dog´s $400 eye infection last week). I want to be able to pay for my daughter´s swim lessons and gymnastics. My budget is me living my big, beautiful life. So I cap my food spending and work to make sure Target doesn´t keep my paycheck. I do the budgeting work and I have the hard internal conversations because I want to live my dream life now and this is how I get it done. As you can see, some months it is rough and some months I miss. That is life. I course correct for next month and keep doing the budget work to realize my dreams each and every day.
Are you ready to start budgeting? What if we stop using the word budget and call it your Money Monitor: Your Key to Thriving Forever. The word budget sounds restrictive and boring but your dreams are far from boring. So pick a new name because this is your dream superpower. This one tool is the key to unlocking everything you want. Track now, thrive forever.
Because this tool is everything on your journey, I am giving everyone on my email list my Monitor for free, plus the instructions on how to modify and use! Holy smokes!!!! Jump in today to get started by clicking on the link.
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Disclaimer: I am an educator, not your personal financial advisor. Please make sure to do your own research before moving forward with any actions discussed in this blog post.
Know that all investments involve some form of risk and there is no guarantee that you will be successful in making, saving, or investing money; nor is there any guarantee that you won’t experience any loss when investing. Always remember to make smart decisions and do your own research!
