Why Should You Set Yourself A Weekly Budget?
Setting yourself a budget is essential when it comes to spending money. It doesn’t matter if it is a daily, weekly, or monthly budget. The goal is to be able to set yourself a budget so you do not overspend your money when it is necessary but still giving yourself freedom with the money you have.
What is a budget?
A budget is a plan to show what you should be spending based on income and expenses. There are various ways you can make a budget. Most people like to write their budget out by hand, while others use something online or on a computer like a spreadsheet. An upcoming idea is using a budgeting app so you can see your budget wherever you are.
Is setting a budget essential?
Before you set yourself a budget, there are many things that you need to consider and work out to ensure you are making the right decision. Below are our top reasons as to why you should set yourself a budget:
To Ensure You Don’t Overspend
Spending money you don’t have or money you know you shouldn’t be spending can be dangerous for our finances. The last thing you want is to end up in some sort of debt from overspending as you might find it difficult to get out of the debt. Although, despite this, you shouldn’t see a budget as a restriction but more like a plan for where your money is going to go.
To Gain Money Management Skills
Working out a budget will help you keep on top of your finances and everything you need to do. But not only that, it will strengthen your money management skills to ensure that you can get ahold of everything you need too. So, the result you will find is that you control your money, your money doesn’t control you.
Reflection
You need to be truthful with yourself to understand whether or not you are doing too many things you shouldn’t be doing. So, are you eating out too much? Are you buying things you know you cannot afford? The task of reflection is to look back over your previous month or week and understand what you have done right and what you could have done better. This way you will be able to adjust your budget to make it better suited to your lifestyle.
Progress vs Goals
Sometimes we do not realise how simple things can be affecting our balance. In other words, that morning coffee which you might get every single weekday morning could cost you around £1040 a year. If you flipped that around, that could equate to a whole holiday! Or even just an extra £1040 in your account.
You should always look after your progress and goals so you can see what is changing whilst keeping your goals in mind. This is a great way to feel motivated to carry on.
Do you have a weekly or monthly budget? Click here to find out how to survive on a £10 daily budget.