So, based on the work you have done in parts 1 through 6, you know how much money you have coming in and how much you are planning to spend. You also have a plan to pay off all your debt, starting right away. Now you need to continue tracking your spending to make sure you don’t get off your plan. This will help you to stay accountable for sticking with your budget.
Don’t stop with the budget!
Many people make a budget, but then stop paying very much attention to spending and earnings. I guess they think that if they have it all figured out, they can relax a little bit. But, in order to be successful, you’ll need to continue writing down every penny that you bring in as well as every penny you spend (the spending is more important than the income) so that you don’t get out of control with your spending.
Write it down!
Writing down your purchases will also help you to be more mindful of them. It will give you a moment to think about whether or not a purchase is totally necessary and if it’s within your budget plan. In fact, it might be helpful to adopt a wait-a-week plan. Any purchase that isn’t absolutely necessary right this minute can wait a week. During that week, you can reflect on whether you really need that item or not, and if you decide you really do need it, you will have some breathing room to look around, and perhaps you might be able to find the item less expensively at another store. Who knows? You might even decide you really don’t need the item anyway, and you have instantly saved a bunch of money right away!
Onward to success!
Sometimes, once you have your plans in place, the excitement wanes and you no longer have huge changes to look forward to. This can cause you to become a little ho-hum in your approach, but stay the course with the above tips, and success will eventually be yours!
