Kristen from Mom Managing Chaos shares tips, encouragement, and resources for busy Mamas looking to simplify managing their money. Join a community of over 20,000 who are ready to take control of their chaos.
🧱 Building guardrails for your budget.
Hey, heeeeeeey!
A guardrail, by definition, is a rail that prevents people from falling off or being hit by something.
Well, just like we have those on steep curves in the road, we also need to build those into our budgets.
So what does a guardrail in your budget look like?
It is built from a few different parts.
It's your emergency fund guarding your against surprise financial disasters.
It's sinking funds, helping you pre-plan for irregular expenses.
And lastly, it's the way you manage your discretionary spending
I'm willing to bet a box of Christmas cookies, that when your budget goes off the rails (assuming you've set up a realistic budget--an email for another day), it isn't because you paid rent. It isn't because you paid your electricity.
These budget busting moments happen in the impulse purchases that happen through the month. They happen in restaurants around the corner. They happen in Target (my greatest love and weakness all rolled into one!). They happen in the drive thru one the way to your next stop.
Is there anything inherently wrong with any of these things? Absolutely not.
But when these expenses get in the way of making your money goals, it's time for a date with your budget.
There are lots of options when it comes to putting up guardrails around your discretionary spending.
-Cash Envelopes to limit overspending
-Splitting up spending into smaller chunks of time giving more control of how much money you are spending at a time
-Opening up a secondary checking account just for discretionary spending to ensure you aren't spending money need for bills and to make spending tracking easier.
Whatever option you choose matters less than putting a system into place to ensure the spending that's happening is moving you toward your financial goals.
Hit reply and let me know some of your favorite guardrails you've put it place to help safeguard your budget OR what guardrails you plan to incorporate in the future.
Keeping it between the lines,
Kristen
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Simplifying + Organizing Your Money
Kristen from Mom Managing Chaos shares tips, encouragement, and resources for busy Mamas looking to simplify managing their money. Join a community of over 20,000 who are ready to take control of their chaos.
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