If you want to save money and lower your expenses, you are in the right place! I have a simple process for lowering all your monthly costs. In this post I’m going to show you how to cut your monthly budget.
HOW TO CUT YOUR MONTHLY BUDGET
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You probably have more money than you realize. It’s just being stretched thin across so many recurring expenses and unneeded purchases each month.
$12 for Netflix, $45 for take-out, $30 on uneaten groceries – and pretty soon you’re wondering where all of your money went.
In this post I’m going to walk you through the process of cutting your monthly budget so you can actually keep more of those hard earned dollars.
I’ve been able to cut out hundreds of dollars of spending using this system and I know it can work for you too.
Psst… by the way, I have a free workbook that can help you cut your monthly costs even more! It’s called my Expense Cutting Workbook and you can grab your copy here.
STEP 1: TRACK YOUR EXPENSES
You might think you know where your money is going, but chances are there are some sneaky expenses siphoning your money without you realizing it.
The only way to really know where all of your money is going is to actually track your expenses.
And by that I mean write out every single dollar you spend.
Make sure to include those dollars that are automatically transferred out of your account each month.
I have a full guide on how to track your expenses here.
I also have a pretty printable tracker included in my free expense cutting workbook.
STEP 2: CATEGORIZE EXPENSES
After a while (about a month) of tracking expenses, look through those expenses and group similar costs together.
Put all your grocery expenses together, all your bills together, all your entertainment costs together, etc.
(Yes, I have pretty printables and a guide for how to do this in my expense cutting workbook.)
Categorizing expenses allows you to then cut your costs strategically – more on that in a minute.
But it also lets you see how much you’re spending on each area and those numbers might be a little shocking.
Maybe you think that most of your money is going to bills, but then you see you categorized expenses and find out that you’re really spending most of your money on entertainment.
To keep this simple, I recommend using the following categories:
- Bills
- Groceries & Household Costs
- Entertainment
- Stuff
- Extra
It might seen tedious, but this is a really important step. Don’t skip it!
STEP 3: CUT EXPENSES
Yay! The part you’ve been waiting for!
After you’ve carefully put each expense into a category, it’s time for you to tackle each category one by one and cut your expenses!
My Expense Cutting Workbook will walk you through the best ways to cut each category of expenses but it’s always a great idea to start by eliminating the most unnecessary costs. These should stand out to you pretty clearly when you look at your expenses.
You want to think about what you don’t need at all and cut that out entirely.
Then, think about what you could really spend less on (ahem… take-out) and form a plan to lower those costs.
For example, maybe you just need to set aside some time to meal plan and set a grocery budget so that you can save money on food.
Again, and I know I’m repeating myself at this point but it’s just so true, the very best way to do this is with my free expense cutting workbook so go ahead and grab your copy here.
- Read: How to Get Back on Track when you Break your Budget
- Read: 6 Things to Cut from your Budget when there’s Nothing Left to Cut
STEP 4: KEEP GOING
I’m sorry to break it to you friend, but unfortunately this isn’t a one time thing.
This is a process you’ll have to revisit again and again as you work to keep your monthly budget low.
You’ll always be able to find new and creative ways to cut your expenses and save more money.
I know this may have felt a little hard the first time, but it gets easier and easier each new time you go through it.
And I’ll be here to help! You can join my email list here so that I can check in on your progress and send you money saving tips each week.
CUT YOUR MONTHLY BUDGET
Now you are ready to make some serious progress, save some serious money, and cut your monthly budget.
Start by tracking your expenses so you know where your money is going. Then group those expenses into categories.
Next, you’ll cut each category of expenses and lower your monthly budget! But don’t give up there. Keep going and make this a regular part of your money saving routine!
Related Posts about Saving Money:
- The First Step to Saving More Money
- How to Create a Saving Schedule you can stick to
- 7 Frugal Habits to Save You Thousands
- How to do a No Spend Month
How have you cut your monthly budget? Let me know in the comments below!
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