Reasons Why You Should Budget Your Money

Updated July 21, 2017

Budgeting is one of the biggest keys to really managing your money. Many people are often turned off by the simple term budget. They associate it with restrictions and a lot of hassle and headaches. They may feel like they are too poor to budget or have other budgeting excuses. However, budgeting can actually save you money, and allow you to have more to spend by helping you to make the most of your money. Your budgeting style can determine how successful you are at budgeting. Here are five things that will help you look at budgeting in a new light. You may also want to review these reasons to start budgeting.

1
Budgeting Stops Overspending

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Most people who do not have a budget end up overspending each month. This limits their spending power in the future as more and more of their salaries have to be applied to debt payments. If you are worried about restricting your spending, consider what it would feel like to have the majority of your paycheck be applied to credit card payments. The stress of finding a way to pay for the rising cost of gas and food can be astronomically when most of your paycheck is already planned.

2
Budgeting Helps You Reach Your Goals

 A budget is a plan that helps you prioritize your spending. With a budget, you can move focus your money on the things that are most important to you. This may be getting out of debt, saving up for a home or working on starting your own business. Your budget creates a plan and lets you track it to make sure you are reaching your goals. 

  • Set aside money in your budget each month for your goals.
  • Your budget will help protect the money you have already saved.

3
Budgeting Helps You Save Money

People who do not have a budget tend to save less money than people who do. This is because when you budget you assign your money to do certain things. This allows you to automatically put money into a savings or investment account each month. A budget can help you stop dipping into your savings each month. As you do this you will begin to build wealth. This will give you true financial freedom in the future.

  • Budget money to transfer into savings each month.
  • Use your budget to help you stop dipping into your savings or emergency fund by planning for your expenses in advance.

4
Budgeting Helps You Stop Worrying

Most people do not like the restrictions that having a budget puts on them. However you decide how much you spend in each category. So if you want to put a large portion of your money towards your leisure activities, as long as you are saving and meeting your other needs, you shouldn't feel bad about that. However once you set up limits you need to stick to them. If you aren't doing that you may have a budgeting weakness that you need to address. Budgeting is not about limiting the fun in your life, but opening up opportunities and money in order to have more fun. The key is remembering to include these categories in your budget.

  • You will know how much you have to spend on each category.
  • You will be able to stop spending when you no longer have money available. 

5
Budgeting Helps You to be Flexible

Budgeting can be flexible. You can move money between categories as you need to throughout the month. Generally, you should restrict yourself from touching the money you have set aside for savings, but you can adjust the amount you spend on each category as you go. This is another way that you can keep yourself from overspending. It also allows you to recognize issues and adjust so that you do not end up eating ramen at the end of every month.

  • Budgeting lets you adjust to cover unexpected expenses as they happen.
  • Learn how to transfer money in between categories in your budgeting software.

6
Budgeting Puts You Into Control

If you feel like you are not in control of your money and you are constantly wondering where it went and what happened to it, budgeting can put you in control. It allows you to prioritize your spending, track how you are doing and realize when you need to stop. It puts a solid plan into place that is easy to flow and gives you the chance to plan and prepare for the future. It is the biggest tool you have to change your financial future and it gives you the power to make changes starting today.  

  • Checking on your budget each day can help you to monitor it and keep you from overspending.
  • Making decisions at the beginning of the month makes it easier to manage your money.

7
Budgeting Can Be Simple

Budgeting can be simple. You can simplify the process by using percentages of your income to cover your set expenses, savings amounts and your spending money. Then you simply track the money as you spend it. This means there a lot fewer categories and a lot more flexibility. You may decide to switch to an envelope system, which eliminates the need to track your spending.

  • Keep at it--the first few months of budgeting are a bit more difficult as you adjust your categories to find the amounts that work for your situation.
  • Cash can help make it easier as can budgeting software. If you are married budgeting meetings with your spouse can make handling your money much easier.