It’s pretty often that when I’m writing for this blog, I’m not just writing for you, I’m also writing for myself. 

Especially when it comes to something like the subject of having good habits. Habits are so crucial for building a better budget. 

Because a budget is really just an intention. It’s a bunch of numbers on the page. It doesn’t make you spend within your means. There’s nothing magic about it. When it comes down to it, you’ll have to be the one that really sticks to it. 

You’ve made the contract.

But then it’s up to you to actually follow through. And that’s where the hard part really begins.

We all have that category.

Try to notice where you seem to have negative spending loops. These are places where no matter how intentional you are to sticking to the budget, these are places where you just always seem to overspend.

For me, it’s overspending on food. Food can be just a huge budget buster and major category that you spend too much money on each month.

What about online shopping? Do you feel like even though you really intended to spend less each month, you just have to take advantage of the latest drop or sale?

You may already know exactly what category gives you trouble in your budget. But if you aren’t regularly budgeting and tracking your spending, you may be a little oblivious to where your bad spending habits come out.

Find a habit that could change the root of the problem.

When it comes to food, I do way better when there’s a plan. 

At the end of a long day at work, when we don’t really have any sort of plan and we’re just depending on the way we feel in the moment to decide what we’ll eat that night, we’re not really set up for success.

When there is a plan, we know what we’re planning on eating that night, we have everything we need, then our chance for success goes way up.

And that’s it for us. It’s having a plan and having the food on hand at home ahead of time. 

So when you’re trying to stick to your budget, it’s not so much about writing the right number down and trying to will it to happen. You have to have good habits in place that enable your goals to happen. 

So this next week, find a super small habit that could help you stick to your budget. Maybe it’s putting the phone on your charger in the other room while you watch tv so you aren’t tempted to shop.

Maybe it’s making sure you have a plan for at least 4 nights this next week so you aren’t depending on your energy level when you leave work to make the right decision with your food. 

If you want to learn more about great habits, there’s two really great books I’d recommend. One is Atomic Habits by James Clear and the other is Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg. 

They both focus on finding the small cornerstone habits that help you make big changes.

Dave Ramsey says that personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge. 

What do you think? 

Do you think you struggle with knowing what you should do with your money? Or do you struggle with making the right spending decisions when the time comes? 

And if you do struggle with your money habits, where do you have the most trouble?