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Simple Meal Planning - Plan to Eat

14 Wicked Awesome Ways to Simplify Your Budget

Oct 27 Uncategorized

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“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.” -Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Mistake #4 – Overcomplicating the Budget

At the end of December last year, I thought it would be a good idea to download a new budget spreadsheet to try for the new year. I liked the spreadsheet I used at the time, but I wanted something that could be even more detailed and easy to read.

Little did I know, I was setting myself up for failure with a complicated budget. This would be my 4th mistake as the family finance manager. As soon as my second daughter was born only two weeks into the new year, I completely stopped budgeting. It was just too much with everything else going on in my life.

Why Should You Simplify Budgeting?

In my mind, a straightforward budget will help you see past the little mistakes and hiccups and focus on the overall financial goals you set. Your financial goals cannot happen overnight, but with some dedication to keeping a working budget, you will see improvements little by little and eventually you will reach those goals.

Overcomplicating your budget and the process of budgeting can be your downfall. If you find that you can't reach your financial goals, you may need to simplify.

© Pixel / Dollar Photo Club

How Can You Simplify Budgeting?

There are various opinions out there about how to simplify your budget, but here are 14 ways that I think will make the biggest difference to my life and our finances. Our number one goal with our budget (at this point in our lives) is to spend less than we earn and put away the rest for a rainy day. Simple as that.

14 Ways to Simplify Your Budget (in other words, STOP.trying.to do.so much!):

  1. Start from scratch
    • Sometimes you have to throw out hard work in order to set yourself up for success.
  2. Switch to Pen and Paper or use a simple spreadsheet (all you need to know is the SUM function for Microsoft Excel)
    • Hey, guess what? I don’t even have to write it out myself. I had the privilege of reviewing the workbook from The Budget Mama (Build a Budget That Works), so I just printed out the budget from the workbook.
    • For some reason, when I actually write something out, it is more meaningful and I do more about it.
  3. Read up on how to budget. I know how to budget, but there might be something I am missing from the fundamentals that could help in the long-run.
    • This is a fantastic resource if you need one: The Beginner’s Guide to Budgeting from Creative Savings
  4. Make sure you and your spouse are shooting for the same goals.
    • For example, one of our financial goals is to travel…a lot. Since we both want to save money for this, we are more likely to avoid buying small, frivolous items now to contribute more to our traveling budget.
  5. Stop using an inordinate amount of categories
    • If I were single, I might even just use the categories: Spend, Save, and Give.
    • Combining the “Groceries” and “Dining out” categories into “Food” might be something I’ll have to think about.
  6. Spend less time budgeting…more often
    • This is the key. I was doing the first part really well earlier this year. I needed to at least be spending a small amount of time on the budget as often as once a week, if not daily (The Budget Mama suggests taking a money minute each day).
  7. Hang on to only one credit card
    • Too many accounts to keep track of make it difficult to budget.
  8. Pay all the bills at once, on one day of the month
    • Even if your bills are all due on different dates, this will greatly simplify the process.
  9. Use the income from the previous month to budget
    • So if it’s November, use October’s income.
    • This means you have to tangibly have that income in your account to budget.
    • That way, you know exactly how much you have to work with for the month.
  10. Write down expenses – in a notebook, your phone, or what have you – the moment they happen
    • My mom used to do this on the back of her checkbook.
    • Keep all receipts with the notebook.
    • Take screenshots of online purchases/payments when they happen.
  11. Do spending freezes more often
    • This would mean you have less to track.
  12. Budget for yearly expenses every new year
    • By doing this, you wouldn’t have to scramble to find money when some big expense is due (car insurance, anyone?).
  13. Focus on only one financial goal at a time
    • Maybe your goals are to retire, build up an emergency fund, and buy a house. Do as much as you can for the more immediate goal – building an emergency fund – and then move on to the others as you reach each one.
    • This doesn’t mean you can’t have numerous financial goals. Just put your energy towards one at a time.
  14. Implement each of the above ways one at a time, over a period of say 3 months, and you’ll be on your way to budgeting bliss
    • The point of this list is not to overwhelm and overcomplicate, but rather to simplify.

You know what they say, “Less is more.”

I got a lot of my ideas from these two posts: 10 Ways to Simplify Your Budget and 42 Ways to Radically Simplify Your Financial Life

How would you simplify your own budget?

I appreciate you taking the time to read this post. You are more than welcome to like my page on Facebook or subscribe to my weekly newsletter via email!

Linked to: Thrifty Thursday (The Thrifty Couple) and Thrifty Thursday (Living Well Spending Less)

Other posts in this series:

You Need a Bill Pay System
My Struggles as the Family Finance “Manager”
Mistake #1 – Quit budgeting
Mistake #2 – Mixed up wants and needs
Mistake #3 – Used credit cards for things we couldn’t afford
Mistake #4 – Overcomplicated our budget
Mistake #5 – Checked over our accounts less often
Mistake #6 – Saved $0
Mistake #7 – Spent bonus money
Mistake #8 – Bought low-quality appliances

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Charlee Flaminio
Charlee Flaminio
I'm a mom of 3 on a journey to feed my family nourishing foods. Personally, I believe you can cook healthy food and still have time for your loved ones.
Charlee Flaminio
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By Charlee Flaminio on Oct 27

Comments

  1. Ana Lynn Amelio says

    10.27.14 at 11:05 am

    I tend to keep our budget simple, especially since math is not my strong point (this coming from a person who repeatedly made the mistake of 3×3=6 and 3+3=9). The simpler it is, the better it works and I don’t think of it as nightmare.

    Reply
    • Charlee Anne says

      10.27.14 at 10:15 pm

      I can see why you’d get confused with those equations! Hahaha. I was terrible at math in elementary, but I always got great grades because I did my homework 😉

      Reply
  2. Heather A says

    10.27.14 at 4:37 pm

    I’m always working on our budget, I do pretty well but I do struggle paying all the bills at one time vs throughout the month at different times. I can see why just doing it one time per month would help. Great tips Charlee!

    Reply
    • Charlee Anne says

      10.27.14 at 10:18 pm

      Thank you, Heather! I hope that tip can help you with your budget. You seem to be much more organized than I am!

      Reply
      • Heather A says

        10.28.14 at 7:56 am

        I’m working on it… but I won’t lie, there’s a huge stack of receipts I need to input, I’m just pretending it’s a decoration for the moment, lol.

        Reply
        • Charlee Anne says

          10.29.14 at 1:18 pm

          Hahaha. My desk is ALWAYS cluttered with receipts.

          Reply
  3. R.F. Dietz says

    10.27.14 at 7:23 pm

    You’re inspiring me charlee!!!! I’m definitely going to start November taking your advice. I even have a new notebook to write in!!!

    Reply
    • Charlee Anne says

      10.27.14 at 10:22 pm

      YAY Rebecca! (doing the happy dance!) I can’t wait to hear how everything goes. Just don’t show me up, alright? 😉

      Reply
  4. Jessi Fearon says

    10.31.14 at 7:22 am

    I love # 14! I love that you mention to implement these one at a time – keep it simple is always my motto! 🙂 Too many times we just want to jump all in and forget that sometimes, slow and steady is what wins the race.

    P.S. Thank you for mentioning my book, I’m so glad you love it! 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Reply
    • Charlee Anne says

      10.31.14 at 2:10 pm

      You’re so welcome! I hope that it is helping a lot of people. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Lauren B. says

    11.06.14 at 9:28 am

    We are going to start a budgeting soon, and this is SO helpful! Really glad I found you on Thrifty Thursday!

    Reply
    • Charlee Anne says

      11.06.14 at 9:43 pm

      I’m so glad I could help, Lauren! I wish you the best of luck as you start it!

      Reply
  6. kalynbrooke says

    11.10.14 at 8:41 am

    Thanks so much for sharing! I love these tips. Both my husband and I love going digital, but sometimes it is much simpler to use just pen and paper!

    Reply
    • Charlee Anne says

      11.11.14 at 5:05 am

      You’re welcome, Kalyn! Thank you for visiting 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Thrifty Thursday Link Party | Link Up Your Budget Friendly Blog Posts says:
    11.13.14 at 7:01 am

    […] Gift Ideas for Any Budget} 3. The Budget Mama {16 Gifts for $20 or Less} 4. Humble in a Heartbeat {14 Wicked Awesome Ways to Simplify Your Budget} 5. The Penny Hoarder {How to Save Money on Groceries Without Clipping Coupons} 6. Taylor Made […]

    Reply
  2. How to Make the Most of Bonus Money - Humble in a Heartbeat says:
    12.30.14 at 7:09 am

    […] it might be to your advantage to add the money to your budget for the coming year. In my post about simplifying your budget, I mentioned this idea. I think it would be so great to tangibly have the money that you budget […]

    Reply
  3. Reasons to Be Thrifty - Humble in a Heartbeat says:
    04.29.15 at 9:46 am

    […] To simplify your budget. […]

    Reply

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I used to struggle big time with getting veggies into my family's meals. After several years and much trial and error, though, I now believe you can cook healthy food and still have time for your loved ones. Click here to find out more.

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