Is your budget ready for LIFE?
What to do when life happens!
Now that we are a few weeks into 2021, we would like to know where you are with your New Year’s resolutions? Many people focus on their finances and typically set some lofty goals such as deciding to pay off all their bills and they think it will happen all at once. However, we know it takes a bit more time, strategy, and a lot of perseverance to align your finances with your lifestyle (current and desired). Together, we can develop strategies to budget, save, or pay down debt and get you on your way to a secure financial future—one step at a time. We can assure you, there is no fast track to financial freedom, but with some time, resources, knowledge, and a bit of discipline, you can get there. We also know that life happens and at times, unexpected events happen that can blow your budget right out of the water, but following the following acronym, “L.I.F.E.”, can get you back on track and may even speed up your progress in the long run.
L-List all items in your budget accurately. Developing a budget is a great way to manage your money if you are accurately reporting the money brought in and the money paid out. For example, if you have budgeted $500 a month for groceries, which breaks down to $125 a week, but then make an additional visit to the grocery store causing an overage, you are now over budget. Overspending happens easily with just a few added items to your grocery list and even on small purchases like coffee at your favorite coffee shop.
I-Impulse Purchases-Impulse purchases can be a budget buster. If you are an impulse shopper, the best solution is to include impulse purchases on your budget. Once you have included these types of expenses, they are no longer considered impulse purchases.
F-Forgotten Expenses-Do you have an annual expense, such as car registration or your AAA renewal, that is due only once a year? Many people forget or opt-out of adding these infrequent expenses to their budgets and end up overspending when the expense sneaks up out of the blue. Solve this problem, by adding these yearly expenses to your budget so nothing is a surprise.
E-Emergencies- These are the hardest expenses to prepare for, but if you save a few dollars each week you will be better equipped to cover unexpected expenses. Planning can help you focus on the emergency, or unexpected cost, knowing you have back up funds to cover you.
Regardless of how prepared you are, life will always throw curveballs, but working to achieve an accurate working budget using the LIFE tips above will put you ahead of the game. If you are looking for help with your budget or need to set one up, we encourage you to contact Carrielyn Reynolds at (800) 326-6190 or email her at creynolds@newdimensionsfcu.com to schedule an appointment.