Budgeting was never my thing some years back, I didn't think it was something important as I wasn't earning my own money and dad never advised me better on how to spend the allowances I got from him. All he ever wanted was for me to spend my allowances on good food or snacks, not just junks and I tried to obey.
I remember saving some money in a safe box I got as a gift, only to spend the money on sweet, milk and peanuts (they were my favourite then) and I'll stay in hunger till dad comes home and prepare real food for us. When I got wiser, I couldn't stop trying to hit myself in the head for wasting all the money on things that didn't fill me.
I grew older, started to earn my own money and I began to learn of the word "budgeting" that came with the saying "save for the rainy days". Honestly, I didn't take the teachings seriously early enough, even up till now, there are still moments I spend money on impulse but I'm way better than before when I didn't plan my finances.
The turn around I needed in budgeting my finance came when I started school and had to live alone. I experienced "no cash" moments too often and waiting for my next allowance was draining so I knew it was time to spend my allowances well so I don't go into lack before my next allowance. Starting a new habit is difficult.
For someone who would spend as she likes, not considering what will happen next, it was not easy transitioning to become someone who budgets and spend her money wisely enough. But I learned and slowly, I became who I am today. Keeping a plan while tracking what I use my money on. Recently, I downloaded a new app.
This app is difficult to understand but from all I've read about it, it will help me track my finances and other aspects of my life better than the manual ways I've been using. So yeah, one of the ways to keep a personal budget and stick to it is putting your income and expenses on record. To know where the problem is, is a step to solution.
Limiting the number of times to spend on impulse is one major but not so easy way to stay on budget and keep track of your finances better. Personally, I struggle with impulse buying everyday and I keep growing in overcoming it. It has helped me save more than I ever thought I would normally so take this point seriously too.
Finally, staying contented and going for just what you need is a good hack to staying on budget. It's not about creating budget, keeping to it is the main struggle and that can be easily done if one appreciates the things he or she can afford. It's a big move to make plans for major buys and go at it step by step without affecting your everyday.
Images used are AI generated.
