Budget Tips for Busy Families

Chances are budget tips is not a phrase that makes your heart soar.  I’m right there with you.  Honestly, I don’t love having budget conversations.  They can feel stressful.  And overwhelming.  And definitely not the way I want to spend time with my spouse.  But for most of us, having a budget is really important to thriving as a family.  So while I am not a financial expert, I can share with you a few things that have helped us through our budget-making ups and downs!

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Make a Budget:

This may seem like a no brainer, but the first step to getting a better handle on your budget, is to actually sit down and make a budget!  Write down all your monthly bills.  Many of these are a set amount that you will pay every month.  Your mortgage, utilities, internet, insurance and more are all part of your monthly bills. 

Now you will want to add in the categories that can vary a little.  For us that is our grocery budget, eating out, clothes, savings, and fun money!  These categories are not a fixed amount and can be influenced much more by your spending habits and behaviors!  You can look back at previous months to get an idea of how much you are currently spending in these categories.

It may be helpful to use a budget app for this.  I really like using the Every Dollar app, but there are lots of options.  These apps often have budget category suggestions too so you don’t forget anything!  After all your budget amounts are recorded make sure you double check the total you have budgeted with your income.  And if you have extra make sure you add some more to your savings! 

Weekly Check In

After your budget is set, the next important step is check in on your budget each week.  I use the free version of the Every Dollar app, which means it doesn’t automatically track transactions from our bank account.  So each week, I look at our bank account and our credit card transactions and I add those into our app.  This also gives me a chance to keep an eye on those variable categories. 

But the other important part of this is to have a weekly check-in with my husband.  It doesn’t have to be lengthy.  A quick check in to see how your spending is going will make sure each of you knows when you have to pump the breaks in any specific category.  You may only need to do this every month eventually, but we have found starting with every week when you are trying to get your budget in check is really helpful!  It’s not always fun, but it is worth it!

Concentrate on Problem Areas

The last step we have found helpful is to concentrate on any problem areas together.  For us those categories that are variable can be the most tricky.  Groceries, eating out, or fun money can easily go over budget if we are not watching.  One strategy we have used is to use cash for these areas.  I know most people don’t use cash anymore, but it really does give you a good visual of how much money you have left in your budget.  When we first started budgeting we used cash for groceries and eat out money.  When the cash was gone, we were done! 

Another strategy we have is just a hard stop.  If while we are tracking we see that we are really low on our eat out category, we may agree to a hard stop together.  That means neither of us will eat out for the next week.  If you have a hard stop on groceries that may mean you eat through what is in your pantry or freezer.

Finally, if you have been way over in a budget area, it may help to step your way down to your ideal budget.  If you are used to eating out three times a week then it will be hard to move to not eating out at all.  Stepping down to eating out once a week is more realistic.  Then after that is your normal routine, you can step it down again.  I know you don’t always have the luxury of giving yourself time, but if your goal is to save more money versus pay essential bills, this could be beneficial. 

It isn’t easy, but as you become more successful it is worth it to be in control of your financial future.  Again, we definitely don’t do this perfectly.  Sometimes I get behind in tracking our expenses.  Sometimes we get lax about our weekly check ins.  But we go back to this framework and it really has been helpful!

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