The One Biggest Money Mistake You’re Making
THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. MEANING I RECEIVE COMMISSIONS FOR PURCHASES MADE THROUGH THOSE LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Don’t let the title for this post fool you. I’ve made more than one money mistake. If I didn’t, I probably want to be writing this blog, talking about the hundreds of thousand dollars of student loan debt that I have to pay back. But by far the biggest money mistake I made and on occasion continue to make is that I don’t actively budget.
Meaning I’m really bad about checking in with my budget before making purchase decisions. And I’m guessing I’m not the only one guilty of making this money mistake.
Because if you don’t regularly check in with your budget it means you’re probably not actually sticking to your budget. Successful budgeting requires that you to stay on top of and in-line with your budget and your goals.
When I don’t budget I don’t hit my money goals
When I don’t actively budget, I don’t have hit my goals. I spend money I wasn’t planning to spend on little things I really don’t need and it’s a waste. It also means I can sometimes find myself scrambling because of unexpected expenses. I end up overusing my buffer and having to borrow from another budget line.
Which then means not having money saved for goals or bigger expenses coming up, which can be a really slippery slope. It’s how I ended up taking so long to pay off my credit card debt. It took over a year to pay off $4k and then once I really focused on budgeting right, I paid off $6k in 5 months.
Budgeting matters, and it can be the difference between becoming debt free or living forever in debt limbo.
So when I don’t actively budget, I’m basically tacking on another year in debt limbo.
Setting a Date With Your Budget
The best way to combat the issue of not actively budgeting is by having a regular date with your budget. I don’t mean the kind of date where you dress up and have some wine, though if you want a glass of wine or to light a candle, you do you.
This date could be just every Sunday night at the start of the week, where you go over and review your expenses from the previous week and what your planned expenses are for the next week or so. Making sure you’re staying on track or making note of where you need to come back.
Alternatively, it could be something you spend 10 minutes on each day reviewing your transactions and categorizing them. It could just be something you do every other day.
It’s really up to you what schedule works best and how often it is that you’re reviewing how you’re spending money.
Wrapping it Up with a Bow on Top
Ultimately, successfully managing your money only works it is when you’re actively monitoring your budget. It means regularly reviewing your transactions and your expenses to see where you’re at throughout the month. Making sure that you don’t go over budget, or, that if you do you’re not going over your buffer to cover it. So make a date with your budget at least once a week if not daily whatever’s going to work best for you.
Don’t let not actively budgeting be your biggest money mistake too.
