Did you join us for the 5 Days to Budget Breakthrough challenge? [Click here to read more.] Today I’m following up with one more challenge: addressing spending problems.
Find the Leaks
If you participated in the Budget Breakthrough Challenge then you have been recording your spending for the last two weeks. At this point you are probably beginning to see some patterns.
Many times money is “leaking” from our lives without our realizing it. Recording your spending enables you to see exactly where the money is going and helps you to find the “leaks”. Maybe you didn’t realize that you were spending $50 a week on lunches out with co-workers or that you actually spend $700 a month on groceries for your family of four.
To find your money leaks, take a few minutes today to look over your spending records from the past two weeks, or if you were not a part of the Budget Breakthrough Challenge, start recording your spending today.
Discover the Source
Once you see where your “leaks” are, you need to stop the flow of money by discovering the issues behind the spending.
One of our problem areas was making trips through the drive-through which cost us between $10 and $20 a visit. When I looked at why this was happening, I realized that on busy days I was really tired just before dinner time.
I addressed this problem by planning my dinner meals ahead of time (and even better, putting something in the crock pot in the morning!). To make meal planning part of my routine, I chose a specific time each week to plan the menu for the next seven days. Knowing that I had something for dinner kept me from making fast food purchases, and we ate healthier food too! [You can see my $125 Budget Weekly Menu Plans here.]
Don’t stop with simply discovering the problem. Create a workable plan to change your leaky budget areas.
Reverse the Flow
After you find your budget leaks and devise a plan to fix the problem behind the spending, start reversing the flow of your money. Rather than spend those little drips and drops, why not save them? Five dollars may not seem like a big deal, but if you save just $5 a day, you will have $150 by the end of the month and $1800 at the end of the year!
By simply changing small habits you can save hundreds of dollars a year rather than watching your money go down the drain. If you are tired of living from paycheck to paycheck, why not take the opportunity today to look at those small amounts of money differently so that you can change your financial situation?
What is one spending area that you can change this week? Leave a comment with your plan so we can encourage each other. 🙂
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Hi Kimberlee! 🙂
Well I just read thru your 5 days to budget. At first my mind kept telling (as I was reading) get up and go get things done come back later. (like wrapping presents…laundry…cleaning..etc.) I think my mind (like most moms) goes in every direction and it took me awhile to focus on just reading. Knowing this right now is way more important then the above list..so I made myself focus on the task at hand for today. LEARNING! Before I found your site I sat down a few nights ago and just wrote down in broad catogeries of what we spent last month using our bank statement. For example All stores..(kroger, walmart, dollar store) in one catorgory…convient stores in another…etc. I was shocked!!!….Its time for us to really SEE…HOW TO LIVE. Face it how we’ve been living and change. When hubby comes home from work I am going to show him what Ive read today and I did print of a few budgeting work sheets . Well I am going to have to shut down for tonight…supper time will be here soon. Have a great night and I will be back soon to read more.
Welcome Traci! I hope you find some helpful ideas and encouragement here. 🙂
I can really relate to the 5 dollars here and there thing. In looking over my budget for the past week I counted up a total of 6 of those types of purchases, including, buying my daughters artwork on notepads, two fast food lunches for me, and my son needing a new deck of cards for his magic hobby. I also know what to do but don’t always do it. For example, I do a lot of frozen foods. I think the freezer is a budgeting mom’s best friend. My favorite staples are meatballs, hamburgers, and chicken fingers or nuggets. I can dress any of these things up or down. Make them into sandwiches for lunch or make chicken parmesan or spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. They last forever in the freezer I just need to remember to use them instead of the drive thru.
Hi Kimberlee,
sticking to the budget in this season is really a chalenge for me. Today I got from work at 7, we had friends visting (luckily just for a drink, no food involved) so I started my meal prep for tommorow at 11 pm. With 3 more evening celebrations this week, and two more job lunchtime celebrations (where I should bring the desert), I really have no idea how am I going to cook, we not to eat fast food (my boyfriend is not joining for job related celebrations, and he still needs to eat something) and not break the budget. I guess we will live on frozen pizza and party leftovers till Christmas 🙂 Any ideas? What do you normally do when the life goes a bit out of pattern?
I have a few low cost alternatives that I take when I need to bring food to a party: brownies with powdered sugar sifted on top, Italian Pasta Salad (without the chicken), deviled eggs, etc. Maybe your boyfriend would be okay with eating simple meals the nights you are gone like grilled cheese and canned soup or scrambled eggs and toast for example. Hope that helps!
I didn’t officially do the challenge but in the past two weeks I realized I need to plan for treats better. I’ve done well at the grocery the past two weeks staying in my ~75 grocery budget, until the weekend when we go to the store and pick up ice cream or cookies or beer. I’m going to plan 1 dessert a week and make it from scratch or plan it in my grocery budget. (Hubby has a “free” money for beer if he wants it.) This will help in the weight loss department too 😉
I like your plan. Gotta keep the hubby happy! 🙂
My biggest leak lately has been groceries. I’ve been buying too much, my freezer and fridge are full. But, I see a good sale on something so I think I have to buy it to “stock up” even if I already have a good stockpile going. Like, I have FIVE cartons of chicken broth in my pantry right now. So, these past 2 weeks I’ve been telling myself “if it’s on sale now it’ll go on sale again, the world will not run out of chicken breasts” LOL In October I spent $687 on groceries/personal items (like toothpaste etc) when my budget is $325. It did include a $300 trip to Costco that we only do every few months, but still, even without that I would have gone over. Plus, whenever I go over it has to come out of the money I have allotted for extra debt repayment or savings, so neither one is good to be short on. So, I’m trying to stick to the $325 this month, even though I found out a little over a week ago that I’M hosting Thanksgiving for up to 8 people (I have a household of 2).
To try and combat the spending, I’m making next week a “clean out the fridge/freezer” week….it will also help open up room for Thanksgiving leftovers. My goal is to only buy Thanksgiving stuff and fresh produce at the store this next week, and use my stockpile in my freezer/fridge/pantry to create my regular meals.
Sounds like a good plan Julie. 🙂
I love this idea! Only buying things for Thanksgiving and using up the things I already have for this weeks meals! I have tons of things in my pantry and should be using them but I tend to stock pile them as well.
We actually spent the last month writing down all of our expenses and wow was it a game changer. We thought that by making a budget each month and knowing what we were suppose to spend would mean that we were following it. And we were in several categories, but our blow money and eating out categories have taken a life of their own. We actually ended up $300 over for the month. Fortunately we had an overage this month that covered it but that could have been $300 in our emergency fund or set aside for Christmas. Our biggest leak seems to be seemingly little things like school pictures or Halloween costumes but even $5 or $10 dollars extra a day has really added up. Going forward we will be setting aside money for these things in our freedom account and continuing to write everything down we spend money on. That alone should help us stay on track for November (and so far it has). We also need to focus on what is really a need ( and that is not $90 in Halloween costumes ) versus a want. Thanks for all the inspiration Kimberly.
I have trouble sometimes with the need vs. want issue too. Good for you for taking control of your leaks Karen!