Monday, January 16, 2017

My 5 Simple Budgeting Rules for 2017: Money-Saving and Personal Accounting Techniques

Money is another one of those big resolutions we make for the new year. You want more in the bank. You want to pay debts, save up. Near the end of the year I was determined to make 2017 the year of aggressive earning but I found a wonderful book (more on that later), it reminded me that focusing fiercely on money NEVER works. You focus on quality, you start with passion and care.


That's the first rule of money, the second one is obvious, you MUST track your personal spending, too! It's very revealing not just for your finances but for you as a person. This year I'm sicking to the simple rules below for personal accounting.

1. Saving Every Single Personal Receipt and Recording our personal accounting Spreadsheet

I use Google Sheets

I'll confess, I am diligent with business tracking but never keep up the personal end. It'll be interesting to see the spending that goes on looking at the years going forward honestly. We spend nearly nothing but it still adds up!

2. No eating out unless it's social (a visiting friend, etc.), I'm cooking nearly all meals at home. I'm leaving wiggle room, for instance we sometimes end up in a rush. The groceries is the easiest area to spend smart and save in.

3. Have guides for my "vision" for wardrobe/home/business buying for review before buying. Just like I shared with this post, having a vision for what you want the final result of your home, wardrobe, business, etc. to be helps curb impulse buys.

4. No new purchases unless I've thought on it for a week or longer.

5. Severely limited "for fun" shopping or thrifting. I want to have a purpose in mind when I shop to help curb impulse buys. It also helps to have a friend with me while thrifting to keep me accountable.

Mostly our theme is buy less STUFF and if you do buy reaaaally be wise about it, only buy something I truly feel I will love and use for years. I want to focus on making our creations as beautiful and high quality as possible this year and traveling, and I don't mind living with less in the meantime to make those things happen. AJ and I enjoy the challenge of the tight budgeting, it's all a worthy sacrifice to make big things happen this year!

Full disclosure, I do not pay myself AT ALL. I put all earnings back into the business, giving myself merely enough payout for bills and necessities. It's challenging, but honestly, I'm enjoying the perspective it's given me on minimalism and wise spending. Even when we're earning more, I'm taking the lessons learned from these start-up years with me.

Do you have any particularly awesome budget tips to share? Any challenges you're doing this year? Apps perhaps? Do let me know in the comments.
For daily updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow me on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram.

13 comments:

  1. we are all about less stuff.
    in fact if I spot something around the house that hasn't been played with, used or worn in a while I sell it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, that's the way to go! I'm the same way, my car is full of donations right now.

      Delete
  2. Great tips! It is eyeopening to track all your day to day expenses. It makes it easier to find ways to save. I have found that living a more minimalist lifestyles feels great and helps us see what truly is important to us. It is never stuff we don't need that makes us happy. I hope you meet all your financial goals this year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! We're working hard at it. I'm always striving to take our minimalism to another level! I always have a little work clutter to squash but we keep getting better and better.

      Delete
  3. Another great post with awesome tips, Vanessa. I totally agree about #4! That's one thing I'm really going to try doing this year, even for minor items. Really thinking about whether it sparks joy or not. I will admit though that #2 is probably the one that'll be hard just coz the kiddos and I love our trips to McDonald's....sigh....
    Anyhoo, hope you're having a lovely day so, Vanessa:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've made #2 fun by allowing myself fun snack purchases and trying to get excited by new recipes and plating experiments. We did flub a bit already from not making time to get groceries but when I added up just a LITTLE of our eating out at the end of last month I was determined to make those numbers go down. Hot damn, it adds up! :D

      Delete
  4. You are so right - quality first! I use an online accounting program to keep track of my expenses. Personally, I spend way less than the average female on clothes / makeup. I'd rather invest in my shop :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, same her on spending. I don't do make-up and I make all my personal care products as part of my business anyway ;) haha Last year I let myself buy some clothes from local vendors but nearly all of them fell apart in a year! This year I'm pretty jaded about buying new ones now, I'm not going to unless it's a necessity and/or something very high quality.

      Delete
  5. UNTUK PECINTA TOGEL MANIA. MARI GABUNG YUK SEKARANG JUGA DI KAPAL4D (BANDAR TOGEL ONLINE MENJAMIN KENYAMANAN PEMAIN DALAM BERMAIN)

    Promo Kapal4d:
    *Bonus New Member Rp. 10.000,-
    *Bonus Setiap Deposit 1% (tanpa batas)
    *Bonus Refferal 1%

    Dengan Diskon & Hadiah Untuk Semua Pasaran:
    *4D : 66% x3000
    *3D : 59% x400
    *2D : 29% x70
    *2DD : 27% x65
    *2DT : 25% x70
    DEPO WD SUPER TERCEPAT & TRANSAKSI AMAN 100%
    LINE : kapal4d
    WA : +855962200895
    SALAM JP ..

    bandar togel
    Agen togel
    togel online
    togel online terpercaya
    buku mimpi togel
    bandar togel terpercaya
    main togel
    prediksi jitu
    bocoran togel
    angka jitu
    angka mimpi
    Prediksi hongkong
    Prediksi singapore

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anyone can follow these rules for the budgeting. According to best assignment writers budgeting effectively can not only give more freedom to buy the things you want now, but will help set you up for a more relaxed.

    ReplyDelete

  7. شركة اصباغ الكويت شركات الدهانات الكويت
    شراء اثاث مستعمل الكويت شركة شراء اثاث مستعمل الكويت
    فني كهربائي منازل الكويت كهربائي منازل بالكويت
    شركة مكافحة البق الكويت افضل شركة مكافحة البق الكويت
    شركة مكافحة حشرات الكويت افضل شركة مكافحة الحشرات الكويت
    نقل عفش مبارك الكبير شركة نقل عفش مبارك الكبير

    ReplyDelete
  8. I also have to set my budget rule this year. Thank you for sharing the post.
    yahoo mail login

    ReplyDelete

I love reading your comments. Thank you for adding to the discussion! I always reply to any and all questions.

Like us on Facebook

Related Posts with Thumbnails