#makingabudget

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#ProfessionalDevelopment 💚➡️ @mdp_info 💚➡️ https://linktr.ee/MDP_info ⬅️ 👞 Get your your practice in order, make sure your budgets balance and you pay yourself what you deserve. Figuring Out… Making a Budget is a new online workshop looking at the complexities of budget making, negotiation and the management of finances 💰 📆 Wednesday 1 March ⏰ 10am - 12pm 📍 Online (Zoom) 💷 £21 - £39 🎟 Book your place via our website (link in bio) 📷 1. Fleeting Flights, David Bethell, 2019 . . . #MakingABudget #FiguringOut #MarkDevereuxProjects #MDP #Budget #Budgeting #ArtsBudget #ArtsBudgets #ManagingFinances #Finances #ArtBudget #ArtistBudget #ArtistFee #ArtistsFee #ExhibitionBudget #CommissionBudget #ProjectBudget #SupportingArtists #ArtistMentor #ArtistMentoring #ArtistsMentor #ArtistsMentoring #Art #Artists #Artwork #ArtistDevelopment (at Mark Devereux Projects) https://www.instagram.com/p/Co9laWpona0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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8 Foolproof Strategies For *Actually* Sticking To Your Budget

Budgets are incredibly useful tools for building up savings and becoming aware of your spending habits. The catch is, even if you create a budget, it can be tricky to stick to it each month. So, I’ve come up with eight strategies to help you stay on track each month.

1. Plan ahead for events

Friend coming in from out of town? Big date night? Cool beer fest coming through? Plan accordingly! If you expect to be spending extra on entertainment, food, etc., plan ahead of time to calculate in which areas you can spend less this month to balance it out.

2. Pay yo-self

Make sure you have a separate savings account and set up an automatic transfer from your main account each pay period. This will set you up to hit your monthly savings goal, and you won’t even get a chance to see it (let alone spend it!)

3. Make a double dinner

I like to (generally) make enough for dinner during the week to be able to take it for lunch the next day too. Not only does this keep me from spending money on lunch, but it’s generally healthier too! Double win.

4. Stop some subscriptions

Subscription services are (obviously) huge these days. Take a peek at what your monthly subscriptions are and see if there are any you don’t really use anymore or if there are any redundancies you can cut out (do you really need Prime, Hulu, HBO and Netflix?).

5. Cut out apps & drinks

Appetisers and drinks can easily double your meal bill. Save them for home. You can even do a cute little at-home happy hour before you go out! Grab a bottle of wine to share from your grocery store for the same cost as a glass at the restaurant; the new, upscale version of your college pre-game.

6. Use a free app to track spending

There are a lot of free apps out there for tracking your budget. Personally, I use Mint. It links right to my bank accounts and automatically categorises my spending. It provides a view of where I am versus my budget in real time and notifies me if I go over in any area. There are a bunch of other good options though too: PocketGuard, YNAB, Wally and Pocketbook, just to name a few.

7. Grocery lists!

Plan your meals for the week ahead of time, make a list of what you need, and then follow that list like a dang bible in the grocery store. This will prevent those little impulse purchases - which add up very quickly.

8. Review and adjust with compassion

Keep tabs on your budget throughout the month. It doesn’t do you any good to be looking back two months prior to see if you stayed within budget. Make sure you’re spending limits are realistic and see if you need to adjust your spending in any category. Remember to be compassionate with yourself if you go over budget, life happens. Take a breath, reset, and move forward. You got this. You can follow Jessi on Instagram at @journey_with_jessi or check out her website at www.journeywithjessi.com Read the full article

[moneystories]

fluctuating vs. inevitable expenses

One piece of advice I found to be helpful is to look at certain expenses that can fluctuate vs. inevitable expenses. For example, instead of feeling overwhelmed with expenses like gas and food which are pretty inevitable if I want to survive, I look at how much I spend on movies, going out, alcohol,etc. 

I've seen some alarming totals on things that temporarily make me happy and am starting to learn that I've got to slow it down and think about whether or not if the end result is better than the initial purchase. I think i'm starting to become more of a homebody now.

[moneystories]

Tracking a week of spending

I am not the greatest at staying committed to budgets. But one thing I do every 4 months is track a week of spending. 

When you look back and see you bought about 5 unnecessary pencil sharpeners, 2 electric toothbrushes and 50 outfits for the wrong season, hopefully it'll be your wake up call to say enough is enough.

[moneystories]

Self-made budget

I had never made myself a budget before this year (I'm 21), and I couldn't be happier. I now have a better understanding of where I like to spend, and am able to allocate money for savings, necessary expenses, and fun things. I wish my parents had taught me that I should be making budgets for myself when I'm young, even though they no longer need to because they are financially very well established. I had to learn how to do it myself, which is great and all but it would have been nice to understand the value of that earlier in life.