Learning to Adult : Habits for Success

Habits for Success

So, last week I showed you guys how to budget, click here to read that post. I also explained how develop your financial goals to help you determine what you should actually be budgeting for. Today is all about what habits you can develop to help you accomplish your budgeting goals!

2. 1. Consistency, Dedication, Self control.  Putting pen to paper and jotting numbers down is the easy part. The tricky part is when you actually apply your budget to real life and things don’t turn out the way your planned. I love this quote about success, “It (Success) takes a series of small, intentional steps every day.” Its so true because you’re not going to be great the first time, but as stay dedicated to it, you will get better.
3. 2. Getting a separate savings account. I’ve heard a lot of people use this trick. You set up a different account at a separate bank where you automatically transfer money into the savings account, but you have to go into the bank to pull money out. This makes it harder to try to spend that money your saving for your mom’s birthday dinner and your student loans.
4. 3. Paying in cash, and ditching the credit card for a bit. Try to focus on saving up for all your purchases, if you can’t pay cash for it don’t buy it. As Dave Ramsey says, just because you can afford the payments doesn’t mean you can afford the item. Just because you can afford the payments on a top notch MacBook Pro with an awesome deal on financing, doesn’t mean you can afford the $3,000 price tag! So just stick with the PC, and pay cash!
5. 4. Budget before you get your check, even just the night before you get paid this will make everything run so much easier. Even if you have to make adjustments because you spend to much, at least you’re making them cause you know exactly how much you have got paid and how much you have going out.
6. 5. Try tracking your expenses to see where all your money goes. On a sheet or on your phone. This will help you figure out where most of your money goes throughout the month or if there is a certain day your spend a lot of money. This will help you better budget the next month, by cutting unnecessary expenses or doing a no spend day challenge.
7. 6. Packing a lunch! I know I said this earlier, but it’s an easy ass way to save money or cut down your eating out. Packing a lunch is soooo much cheaper than spending the average $8 a day on lunch out. Try packing a lunch for a few days a week, this will help your wallet and your health.

And that guys is some small habits you can create to minimize costs and stay on track and organized. Each month, I will show you guys my budget to encourage you to budget with me and get your debt and savings in check! After the end of the month I’m going to try doing a monthly recap, to show you guys how my budgeting actually went because many things do change within a month. Like I said last week get ready to budget with me and think of those financial goals for the 30th!

til then, XOXO J