Getting Back On Track After a Budgeting Break

I have started and stopped budgeting numerous times over the years. This last time, I took a long, long break (as in around two years!) Dealing with the loss of my Dad, my stepfather and my mom in just over a year’s time, and then moving led to my putting budgeting aside. I still tried to watch our spending, but I didn’t actively track what we spent, have a real plan or formal budget, and no real goal. But it was taking most of my mental energy to keep up on things in general. So, I gave myself a break.

I decided that since I was starting anew (again), I’d try a new system. I’m using the Budget Planner from Clever Fox. It is very similar to how I used to track my budget, but it takes less time. I love the monthly budget review and the fact that I can make a color-coded pie chart of my spending!

I think that small progress is still progress. All those times I started budgeting, even though I stopped, I learned something. I learned what our spending triggers were, and that not having a small amount of “fun money” wasn’t a good idea. Each time I did budget, I saw improvements in our financial situation. I tried out different budgeting systems and learned what did and didn’t work well for me. But then, life would happen, or I would get busy, or I would lose my motivation…

I could make all kinds of excuses. I could be mad at myself for not being more responsible. Or I could pick it up again, start where I’m at, and give it another try. And that is what I’ve done. Hopefully, I will stay focused, I will stay on my budget, and I will meet my financial goals. But if I don’t, I’ll give myself grace and start yet again.

I’ve got some things in place now that I did not have before, that I think are pretty good ideas! Maybe some of them can be helpful to you, if you are needing ideas to keep motivated while living on a budget.

Budget Buddies

My daughters and I have formed a budgeting group. With everyone’s schedules, it’s been a little hard to pin down a time to meet, but we will get that figured out. They know the basics of making a budget: Write down your income, write down your expenses, see where you can cut costs, have a plan for your spending… Our little budget group is focused more on keeping one another accountable, and encouraging one another if we get off track. I think that making a budget is the easy part. Sticking to a budget is a bit harder.

Grampy’s interest level in budgeting is low. We discuss major purchases when necessary and I give him updates on our savings and bills, but making the budget and tracking spending is just not his thing.  That can lead to a pretty lonely budgeting experience, so I’m glad I have someone I can talk nerdy budgeting stuff with.

Sensible Cents Sundays

My daughter named this for me. I wanted to designate a day each week where I focus on our finances: Pay bills, review spending, plan ahead… I used to have Money Management Monday, but since I now have a home daycare, Monday is not a good day for that anymore. Sometimes by the evening on weekdays, my brain has turned to mashed potatoes.

I want to be fresh and alert during my money management time. Sunday is a good day right now because we are heading into football season. I do not watch football. I will happily hide away in the sitting room with my tea and my cats and my budget while Grampy watches his football game at the other end of the house.

Better Mental Health

I think I’ve shared before that for years I had struggled with anxiety and depression that, at times, left me unable to handle just everyday life. Trying to tackle our debt and get it paid off when I was often just trying to get through each day was difficult, if not impossible.

I am happy to say that now I have those things very well-managed. Through a combination of counseling, medication and a change in my environment, I now have very few difficult days. I do still have anxiety, and probably always will, but now I know how to handle it, and it no longer regularly interferes with my day-to-day life.

If you are struggling, I would encourage you to seek help. I wasted many years trying to be tough and not ask for help. But when I finally started to feel better, I was (and still am) amazed at what I can do.

A Clear Goal for the Future

One of my first blog posts was about figuring out why you want to budget and save money. At the time I wrote that post, I desperately wanted to save money for a down payment on a home. I wrote that post years ago, and life has changed significantly for our family. With my mother’s passing, we inherited her home and moved to a different state, so we no longer needed to purchase a home. I was without a goal for a while. Now I have a new one.

While I do love being a childcare provider, I know that it will not last forever. I’m in my mid-fifties, and I can get pretty tired chasing all the little ones. There are only four of them, but they are very busy! More than that, Grampy is starting to have more problems because of his arthritis, and I can see that in a while, I may need to have more free time to take care of him, or to do all the things that he does currently (like the yard work, maintenance, errands, etc.), that he may not be able to do. I also just want us to have free time to spend together.

So now I have a new goal: Retiring

We still have some debt to pay off, and I’d like our “nest egg” to be a little bigger. I have a plan to be debt-free in three years. At that time, I will reevaluate our situation, and retire if I can, or downsize my childcare if I feel like I should keep working. I know I would miss those babies, but I think I will know when the time is right for me to retire.

Sharing My Progress

I might try to share an occasional post about my progress. I started doing a “Goals Update” several years ago, but then my Dad passed away and I stopped working on the goals I had set. I won’t share our entire financial picture, but I can include what we put into savings and how much our debt decreases each month, and how much our home expenses and groceries were. Perhaps it can be an encouragement to someone. If I get the time, I may start sharing a short video about budgeting on my YouTube channel. I haven’t been posting regularly there, as editing those videos takes me a long time!

Just Keep Trying!

If you’ve hit a bump in the road in your budgeting and gotten off track, it’s okay! Start where you are and move forward. This time might be the time that you are successful. You won’t know until you try!