10 Reasons Why Setting a Budget Can Benefit You

10 Reasons Why Setting a Budget Can Benefit You

Budgeting isn’t always easy, even when you think you have enough money to go round. But when you want to save while you earn, it is an essential part of everyday life. While you may not need to budget right now, it is good practice to ensure that when you start paying bills and owning your own property you are prepared. Saving up money shouldn’t be a chore, and if you find easy ways of setting a budget, you will discover that you are putting away more money than you would’ve thought possible. Here at BingoLoans, we are well adept at keeping finances in order, so we’re going to share our top 10 tips on easy ways to budget!

1. Set Your Goals

The first step to setting up and maintaining a budget is to ensure that you have an ultimate end goal. This will give you the motivation to save and budget. While this may not be something hugely important now, any money you save as a result of budgeting properly could help you with buying a car or example or keeping a few hundred pounds, set to one side, for an emergency.

2. Start From Scratch

If you have a budget in place already, and it’s not working for you then scrap it and start from scratch. Trying to force yourself to put money away isn’t always going to work, and you will probably end up getting fed up, and end up spending anything you have saved up. If you can make a new savings plan, that doesn’t feel like too much of a strain, then this is the best way to begin budgeting.

3. Cut Your Bills

Cutting your bills is a great way to start saving. It will help you to budget your fixed outgoings and ones that you can change. If you buy lunch from a shop every day, try making it for yourself at home. You will find that little changes to cut your bills can really help budget your savings in the future.

4. Change Direct Debits

If you can move your direct debits to the beginning of the month or soon after you get paid, then you may find that you can help budget your month much better, without bills coming out without you expecting them. Knowing exactly where your money is going each month, and when it is going to come out of your account is one of the most important first steps to budgeting.

5. Prioritise Your Debt

One of the biggest steps when it comes to setting a budget is to prioritise your debt and get it paid off as quickly as possible, so you’re not hit with any late repayment fines or a build-up of interest. Whether you have a payday loan to pay off or finance on a car, then make sure that you prioritise the ones that build up the most amount of interest first. The sooner you pay off your loans, the more you can start saving and if you are struggling, don’t be afraid to ask them to reduce your payments, so you can catch up.

6. Every Penny Counts

One thing to know is that every penny counts when it comes down to budgeting. A few pennies and pounds here and there may not seem like a lot at first, but when it comes down to the long-term, you will find that they really do add up. Make sure that every penny is included in your budget, and you will find that you are saving a lot more in the long-run.

7. Focus On The Long Term

Budgeting to build yourself a small pot of savings, for whatever reason, isn’t a short term thing. If you could budget and save for the thing you wanted in 3 months, then saving money isn’t really an issue for you. Budgeting is a long term task and one thing that people forget about when it comes to budgeting is what exactly they are saving for. If your long term goal is to be a homeowner, but that new games console seems far more interesting in the short-term, it is important to try and keep grounded and keep your eye on the long term. If you do not, then you may discover that your long-term goals will be further out of reach.

8. Build A Budget Tracker

When it comes to making budgeting even easier, you can try using an existing budget tracker, or even creating your own. This way, you will know exactly where your money needs to go month by month, and ultimately help you to save in the long-run.

9. Earn A Little Extra

You might be thinking, at this point, that’s easy for you to say. But if you don’t think that your standard salary is enough to budget on, then why not try to earn a little extra. This will help you put more savings away without a strain on your standard budget? Whether you take on a second job, or you do a little extra work here and there, you’ll find that these savings can add up to a huge amount. Bear in mind, that additional work, even if it is a few hours, produces money that wasn’t in your budget before and therefore if it’s only £30-40 for a few hours work, that’s £1500-£2000 extra!!!!

10. Adjust It As Time Goes On

As time goes on, your priorities will change, and your budgeting should reflect this change. If you’re going back to school, then you’re going to need to budget for that. If you get a raise or a pay cut, then you’ll need to adjust your budget to suit that too. Life changes generally mean changes to your budget, so it is important to keep your budget flexible and adaptable.