Looking for advice. My husband has a great salary and I also work part time and have two other side gigs that give a little more income each month. We have two paid off cars, our mortgage is not insane, and we don’t spend outside our means (we cook a lot at home, I meal plan and shop the sales on groceries, we use gas points, buy things secondhand, etc.). We have three children and a dog and I just feel like everything right now is just slated against people who have families. Essentials keep going up in price, other things just keep going up too, and recently we have gone over budget by around $400 each month for the past four months. There have been a few outlier expenses that we have had to make like my husband being a groomsman in a wedding and having to pay for a suit, etc. but otherwise I really can’t understand why we keep going over budget. It just seems like we aren’t making enough to keep up with the price increases on things. Advice from a budgeting standpoint? I don’t want to have to keep taking money from savings to cover when we go over budget but I also am not really seeing what we can be doing differently. We’ve even tried to cut down what little spending we do have on restaurants or fun outings, etc. but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. How can we get back on track?! How do you usually handle when you go over budget?
The first step is to record each and every dollar spent. To know exactly where the money is going, I use a spreadsheet that I update monthly with every transaction.
You’ll undoubtedly discover that your overdraft is the result of numerous small things adding up over the course of the month. Whether it’s excessive subscriptions, grocery spending, toy purchases for dogs or children, or an excessive number of Amazon purchases.
You can create a plan to reduce spending after you are fully aware of where your money is going.
There are two options if you frequently find yourself going over your spending limit: reduce your expenditures or raise your income. Using a combination of zero-based budgeting, where every dollar has a purpose, and values-based budgeting, where I am conscious of where my money goes and make sure it isn’t spent on things I would regret or not enjoy, has helped me cut down on spending the most.
Having said that, it’s difficult to provide you with more detailed guidance without knowing your income and the current breakdown of your fixed and variable expenses.
It is impossible for anyone to provide you with advise that is tailored to your particular circumstances without having specifics about your income and expenses.
What is the amount of your miscellaneous budget? Your budget will always be messed up if you set one without factoring in incidental expenses since life happens. Do you budget ahead of time for these unforeseen costs?
See where your money is going each month by downloading your bank statements. Sort it into categories and distribute it. People in this day and age have no excuse for not knowing where their money is going. We have all the resources necessary to find this down to the last nickel. Make use of them.
The cost of your husband’s outfit and his role as groomsman should be covered. These could fall under the categories of “gifts,” “entertainment,” “clothing,” or even “personal fun money.”
Put an end to your excessive spending if you’re overspending.
If unexpected costs crop up that you were not expecting, your budget is still being completed.