How To Budget

1. Make A List Before You Shop

One thing that helped me before I did my weekly shop was to go online to see how much everything I needed was. It also helped me to find out if there were any special offers on too. It allowed me to write down the prices and work out how much my shop would come to. If it was just for me, I would budget around £20 for my weekly shop and try to buy things I know I'd use and could last for one or two meals. 

2. Meal Plan

Another good tip is to meal plan. Make a list of all the meals you will have for the week then work out what ingredients you have to make within the house and what you need to buy. It's useful to use anything you have. Buying things like chopped tomatoes is a good option because they can be used in lots of dishes plus it's a cheaper alternative to buying pasta sauce jars. Buy a few herbs like basil and oregano to add flavour too. It will help you in the long run if you plan your weekly meals. 

3. Write down all your monthly outgoings

Sometimes you need to be real and realise there are more important things you need to pay before you can treat yourself. Be honest with yourself and write down every outgoing you have for each month. Whether it's rent, bills, car fuel etc. Plus how much average pay you get each month and how much of it you need to pay all the important outgoings. It does suck and sometimes takes a chunk out of your pay that you've worked hard for but that is the sad reality of being an adult. It's all good and well to treat yourself but you also need somewhere to live and maintain the bills for that place. If it is a struggle, consider living somewhere more affordable or shared accommodation to make paying bills and rent easier. I'm currently living at home with my mum because I know I cannot afford to live in a place of my own because I would be broke. Consider whether you need to have a car because that can take a big chunk out of your finance. Especially if there's plenty of public transport or if you can share lifts with people you work with. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to finance our living. It's more important to have a roof over your head than having a car to drive around in. Although I'm saying this as someone who doesn't drive so I can't talk. 

4. Come to terms with your financial reality

Pretending you live the life of luxury is not the way forward. You may feel like other people live the life of luxury and indulge in nice things so why can't you. Well, perhaps your finances may not be on that level just yet. Be realistic with your finance and figure out where you stand with what you can afford. It may be difficult and frustrating but at the same time, you don't want to leave yourself in debt or constantly in a place where you owe people money. Yes, there are loans you can get but the interest rate is not worth it. Figure out if you can afford to live on your own, especially with your wages. It may feel like the end of the world but moving back into your parents' home may not be such a bad idea financially as you'll have fewer expenses, yes you may need to contribute towards rent and bills, but your parents should be reasonable. Especially if you're honest with your finances. The last thing your parents would want for you is to be in debt, broke and homeless so just be honest with them. Also, if you don't fancy moving back in with your parents see if you can live with a friend, sibling or another family member as sometimes having a roommate can help save money as you're splitting the costs. 

5. Try to save a bit of money with each payday

Whether it's £10 a month of your wages, every little helps in the long run. Get a savings account as you'll have no outgoings from it and eventually the money will soon add up. Use your savings as an emergency fund for yourself or to save for something you want whether it's a holiday or a new console etc. It always feels good to have savings in the bank because it is like just in case things don't go well then you have your savings to get you back on your feet. 

6. Make some lifestyle adjustments

It's important to look at the lifestyle you lead. Are you going on nights out every weekend? Are you eating out every week? Do you spend a lot of money when you're with friends? Sometimes, you don't realise it, but money eventually adds up. Of course, I'm not saying you can't go out and enjoy yourself, but if you have gone out for a meal then try to choose the cheaper option and not that expensive steak. Yes, it may look delicious but is it worth it? Especially when you can probably buy a cheaper steak in the supermarket. Try to save when going out by looking at cheaper options. If you meet with friends, do you need food, or will a drink do? Nobody is going to judge you for wanting to save money. It's a mutual understanding, especially these past couple of years with the pandemic, everyone is trying to save money. Either way, you may need to make a few lifestyle adjustments if you want to save money. Go on a night out once a month, choose a cheaper option when going out for a meal and try to do things that don't involve breaking the bank. You'll thank yourself in the long run when the time comes that you can afford to treat yourself every once in a while. Just don't make a habit of treating yourself all the time. 

7. Track your spending

Finally, a very simple way to budget is to write down everything you spend money on, whether it's groceries, bills, receipts. Having a constant reminder of what you're spending money on will help you to see where you need to make changes and find out where you can save your money on. Even in your grocery shop, are you doing your groceries in an expensive Supermarket? An example is in the UK is Waitrose or M&S where their products are pricier compared to places like Lidl and Aldi which are much cheaper. Even Tesco is a good place to shop recently especially if you have a Clubcard because some of the Clubcard deals are pretty reasonable recently. Either way, try to shop in more affordable places to suit your budget because you get the same products in every supermarket, but the only difference is the price. Just do what works for your budget and remember to track what you're spending on. 

Those are all my budgeting tips. I'm sure there are plenty more tips to help you budget and remember you can always speak to your bank to go over your finances. Just try not to suffer in silence, if you're struggling with money then talk to someone because it will only get worse if you ignore the problem. 

Thank you for reading my blog and I hope this was helpful to any of you. I'll be back again soon with another blog post. 

See you then. 

Megan x

*This is not a sponsored post* 

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