[Nicole]

I have found my reoccurring theme is when I restrict too much I eventually overspend because I feel deprived.

However, being strict seems to be the only way I save large amounts of money. It has become a cycle at this point.

[Kelsey]

We redid our budget recently and it was laughable how off some of our categories, especially food, were. The kids have gotten bigger and things have gotten more expensive so we had to adjust. We also started planning to have a buffer because *something* came up every month.

We also have ourselves a bit of an entertainment budget- not huge, but we were trying to save save save and never do anything fun and that just isn’t sustainable.

The last thing we had to decide is that vacation just isn’t in the cards for us right now, so we removed that line from the budget and distributed the money to help us “make it” comfortably in other areas.

[Christa]

You have to build in money to spend otherwise the cycle will continue. Yeah saving large amounts of money is nice but you’re not actually doing that if you’re overspending.

So you need to build in fun money or miscellaneous money or whatever category you’re spending in.

[Shelby]

We purposely budget fun money and miscellaneous to cover the things you don’t expect or want to splurge on – we rarely have something that doesn’t have a sinking fund so miscellaneous tends to now be eating out (something we rarely do and don’t budget separately for) and I’ve tried to open up our fun budgets as much as possible so you have extra and don’t feel crunched.

[Patti]

Don’t underfund ur envelopes, thinking u will be saving the money. As u see u are setting urself up for failure. If u have a want bur u are still building EF and paying debt off but u can without the above slowly save for said item.

Maybe make a vision board. A visual may empower u to continue as u see ur future possibilities.

Bill pay off trackers u can color in shows ur progress and may motivate u. Also, when ready a tracker for say the trip ur planning, down payment on a house, cash flow a new car or a hefty down payment. We fall into the instant mindset.

Ok I started this now where are the results (it’s just the 2nd day in). Financial freedom and control of our lifestyle is slow and steady. It’s not a sprint for most. We will have pitfalls and setbacks but if u really want this don’t let urself be deterred.

[Carole]

Do you have a “why” that you feel really good about? Or maybe shorter term goals/wins would be helpful. It can be hard when you’ve knocked out all the small stuff and everything takes a long time.

I’ve found saving breaks to be really helpful. I do my saving budget for 10 months I don’t fund anything additional during November and December. Saving just isn’t something I like to focus on during that time. If you find there’s particular times you like to spend more or don’t like to be restricted, you can build that in.

I hope that all makes sense!

[Beth]

Select a goal. When you reach that goal, treat yourself.

There are those who will cut themselves down to nothing. No fun, no eating out, no splurge. And, just like a diet, as soon as you “cheat” it snowballs into more and more. Suddenly everything you’ve accomplished goes right away.

It’s so easy to go back to what you know instead of growing and becoming a better person. That not only works mentally and physically, but financially.

So treat yourself. If your goal is $100 in a car emergency fund, as soon as you get there treat yourself. And it doesn’t have to be an expensive treat. Maybe buy that new dress you’ve had your eye on. Or those cute earrings.

Save $500 in your car emergency fund, and maybe go out for a really nice dinner.

Save $1,000 and maybe you plan a nice massage or pedicure.

Make the goal worth it for you to work towards it!

[Author]

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