Many Americans set up a budget and stick to it, only to face an emergency medical situation, wind up splurging, or even discover a utility bill is higher than expected. Their budget is blown. All hope is lost, right? Not exactly. There are ways to get back on track with just a little effort.
Here’s Five Fast Facts About Fixing a Blown Budget:
- 🛍️ Don’t Beat Yourself Up - Most people have blown or will blow their budget. A spending hiccup doesn’t mean you’re stupid or irresponsible. If anything, use it as a future reminder.
- ⚖️ Review Your Spending - Take a look at what went wrong, where you made your mistake or mistakes. Did you forget to include something important in your budget? Did an unexpected medical bill pop up? Did you buy a limited edition set of Precious Moments figurines off the Home Shopping Network at 1 a.m. like I did? If you’re able to spot the problem, it’ll help you going forward.
- 🚑 Make Some Changes - From there, you’ll need to adjust your financial goals and your budget. You may have to cut leisure expenses to save more or pay off that unexpected bill.
- 🤹 Keep Your Budget Fluid - It should change from month to month based on your current financial conditions. It doesn’t need to be a major change, but if you have to pay for an emergency appendectomy there will be some constant adjustments.
- 🏦 Start a Budget Buffer Account - If you can, open a “buffer account.” Put a little money in each paycheck and use it to balance out unplanned spending that would mess up your budget. This can be hard to do if you’re living from paycheck to paycheck, but it’s certainly worth a try.
🔥Bottom line: Money is not a fun subject and budgets can be very difficult to work with. Just remember: you’re only human and there are ways to fix big problems with small changes.
Have you ever blown your budget?
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