What you need to know to Budget like a pro

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Like I’ve said about 1,000 times before, I’m poor.

Elliot and I are a newlyweds in our twenties, and we have a mortgage. It would be super weird if we weren’t poor. But we’re okay with that.

We have goals, and one of our most important goals is to be financially free. We want a life where we control where our money goes, and we don’t have to worry if something breaks. In order to achieve that goal, we created a budget and stuck to it (for the most part) since before we even bought our home. We’ve been using a budget for most of our relationship, so at this point, it’s kind of like second nature.

I know a lot of people are feeling some uncertainty with their finances during this COVID-19 crisis. So many have been laid off and many more don’t know how much longer they will have a job. That is unbelievably stressful. Even if you do have job security, you may be feeling like you want to tighten up your budget to grow your savings, just in case. We all are feeling it. You are not alone.

Even though I’ve been budgeting for a while now, I do not consider myself an expert on it. AT ALL. But I have found a few tips that have helped tons with saving money and being smart about spending. If you’re interested in a little bit of advice on budgeting, or you’re thinking about it but don’t know where to start, here are a few ideas. I’ve included a fun mixture of fun facts and spending hacks.

Budgeting isn’t sexy.

It’s not. It’s not fun, and it’s not cute. It’s hard as all get out. It’s hard to say no to things that we want to do. It’s hard not to buy the things that are SO CUTE, and it’s hard not to go on the expensive trip I’ve been dying to go on. It’s a commitment, so it’s important to know that before you start, or it won’t work. Sticking to a budget is hard work, so you need to have a strong “why”, which leads me to my next point…

Have a goal.

Why are you doing this? Do you want to go on a dream vacation? Do you want to buy a house? What is driving you to make this change to better your finances? Seriously, think about it. Write it down. Make a vision board or stick a photo on your refrigerator. Whatever helps you remember what you’re doing this for. Why you want to be a more financially stable version of yourself. Maybe you want to be debt free, or you want to save for retirement, or you just want to be prepared for when a crazy crisis shuts down the country, your reason why is going to fuel you for the long haul.

Get a budgeting app, AND USE IT.

We use EveryDollar. Some people use Mint or another budgeting app. It really doesn’t matter what you choose, so check them all out and find which format you like best. We like EveryDollar because it’s easy to build your budget and log everything you spend. When you sit down and actually write out where your money is going, it will blow your mind how much you actually spend on little things. It helps make you more accountable and take control of your spending.

Control your money, don’t let it control you.

It’s your money. You choose what to do with it. When you make your budget, it may seem like you “can’t spend money”. That’s not true. YOU are the one deciding where it goes, so don’t play the victim. If you haven’t budgeted money for going out or restaurants, you have prioritized something else over that. When your friends ask you to come out with them, don’t sigh and say “I can’t, it’s not in the budget.” Say “Sorry, I planned to spend my money on ___ this month”. Or “I didn’t budget for eating out this month. Maybe next month!” You are in control of where your money goes, nobody else.

Limit eating out.

Honestly, we never eat out. We meal prep a lot, and I have a system of making new meals every 3 or 4 days so that we always have food to pack for lunch or just microwave and eat. I’ve tried a bunch of new or healthy recipes that we’ve ended up LOVING, so we have developed a decent amount of meals and we don’t feel like we’re eating the same thing all the time. Except, of course, when Elliot decided that he loved chili and asked for it every other week in November/December and now I’m on strike and refuse to eat it again til maybe September. Friends, we save SO MUCH by eating in, and only going out once in a while to celebrate. When we do go out, we usually use a gift card or coupon, so it’s very rare that we spend a lot on eating out. It’s not that we don’t like eating out, it’s just an easy way to cut a lot of spending, so that we can save. In December, we went out to eat several times to meet up with friends who were in town for the holidays, and we easily doubled our spending on food that month, with just going out 2-3 times.

Shop at the cheap grocery store.

Are we peasants? Maybe. But I refuse to shop at Safeway. It’s pricey as all get out. I pretty much only shop at Lidl or Aldi anymore, because it’s way more affordable, and they have almost everything I need. They have all the basics, and their store brand stuff rocks. Hear me out, but they make off-brand Girl Scout cookies, and those things are AMAZING. Anyway, I don’t need name brand stuff, and if I do, like Pillsbury biscuits, they have it. I can do all of our basic grocery shopping for the week and it’s usually about $65. You can’t beat it.

Meal planning.

Before you go grocery shopping, make a plan for what meals you want to make that week. If you have no idea what you’re making that week, you can easily pick up half the things in the store and spend way more than you need to. It doesn’t have to be super detailed. After a while, it gets really easy. For example, if meatballs are on sale this week, I know I’m going to grab those, and I know that we like spaghetti squash with meatballs, so I’ll pick up a squash or two as well. Or if steaks are on sale, I’ll pick up some veggies that we like to grill, like zucchini. And some potatoes, because who doesn’t like a baked potato with their steak?

Cut cable.

It’s redundant, but cancel your cable. Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video have more than enough content to stream and you save so much money by cutting cable. You can even bundle and get some of your favorite channels! If you need to watch the big game, go to a friend’s house. Or your parents, like we do.

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Shop around.

Whenever I want to buy something new, whether it’s mascara or a fence for the dogs, I shop around for the best deal. I get a lot of our photography equipment and electronics used. I do the research and make sure we’re getting good quality for the price. It takes a little more time, but it’s worth it.

Find the free stuff.

Look, free stuff is everywhere. There are Buy Nothing groups on Facebook you can join, where people send gifts to each other and its a wonderful community to be a part of. I’ve gotten bathroom decor and fresh squash from someone’s garden from Buy Nothing. FRESH SQUASH, Y’ALL. There are also tons of events that are free to attend all over the state if you like to get out and about (after all this is over, of course) but don’t want to spend your budget on entertainment. Festivals, shows, all kinds of things. You can find them on Facebook or your local community website.

Get familiar with your finances.

Check your budget and/or bank accounts daily, or almost every day. If you’re afraid to see what you’ve spent, please. Get over it. You need to know what’s going on with your money if you want to take control of it. Check it every day, and you’ll become more familiar with when your subscriptions are paid every month, and you’ll see what you value and what you don’t. Also, if you’re on top of your accounts, you won’t be surprised when something happens that you weren’t expecting. Get responsible, and take ownership of your own money.

Happy budgeting!!

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21