Is Money Worry Stopping You From Living Life To the Fullest? October 20, 2016My MoneyOff

When we are more money conscious, it can have a real effect on our lives. It can work in our favor and make us aware of things that we don’t need to be spending on. But it can also make us feel guilty even when we don’t treat ourselves that much. However, it is possible to find a happy medium. Read the advice below to help you find yours.

Do budget…
If you are going to save any money at all, you are going to need to construct a budget. A budget is a plan for your money. The idea is that you know what things you need to pay for every month and how much you have left. What is left needs to be divided between saving and having a life.

Do have an emergency fund…
The problem a lot of people come across when they budget is that they are too strict. They account for everything down to the last penny, which is fine if nothing unexpected occurs but can cause you major troubles if it does. That is why it’s essential to have an emergency fund in place. Or at least a bit of flexibility in your budget that will allow for some wiggle room.

If you grab an impromptu coffee with a friend and that puts you over your budget, it can be very demoralizing. It can make you feel like you have failed, even though you have kept to it with everything else. When you have an emergency fund, this doesn’t happen. It means you can dip into this money for little things that happen through the month without affecting your savings.

Don’t loose track…
It is all very well having a budget that works, but you also have to make sure that you keep track of your spending throughout the month. Surprisingly even with all the banking apps that you can get it can still be hard to keep a track on everything. It is a constant balancing act on what you have spent, what you still need to pay out and how much you have left.

Do use an app…
Some people use an accounting book to do this. It’s a pocket book that they take everywhere and record what they have spent. Of course, this does seem a bit dated now, as you can get apps that do the same thing.

Whichever way you choose, just make sure that you keep an eye on your incoming and outgoings throughout the month. As it will be easier to correct any problems sooner and will allow you to stick closer to your original budget.

Do find ways of doing the same things more cheaply…
Another way of keeping to your budget is to find ways of doing things more cheaply. For example, if you are buying your lunch every day from work, it might be cheaper to buy the ingredients and then make your them at home. You can shop the in-store offers, or get items that you have coupons for, which will allow you to save even more money.

In fact, coupons and vouchers are a great way of being able to still doing things but keep in your budget. Try to get a two for one deal on your meals when you go out. Or, see if you can get free venue entry before a certain time, and save on a cab by looking for a Lyft code for a free ride home.

Don’t ban all fun…
While it can seem like the sensible thing to do, it to not go out and have any fun at all, that actually won’t work in the long term. Your budget and savings plan have to be manageable, and this is going to include having some fun. Banning all fun will just be demotivating and will prevent you being able to stick to your saving plan for any length of time.

Do choose wisely…
Having said that, you also need to make sure that you are not wasting money on unnecessary nights out and frivolous things. You need to really examine what you are doing with your cash.

A date night out is a good investment of money and your time as it is serving to maintain and improve your relationship. But what about that big night out that you aren’t really bothered about but just feel like you should go? Well, you can probably stand to miss out on that one and reap the rewards in savings. Yes, you will have to get good at saying no to people, but that’s not a bad skill to have.

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