When my husband and I first started the excursion in our financed Chevy Cruzes through the mountain of vehicle and student loan debt, we were slashing attackers and taking names. We paid off his car in three months and paid mine off seven months later. Now we’re tunneling through student loans. Intensity wasn’t lacking, and while not every month was perfect, and some budget line items were skewed, we managed to take it in stride and push through.

 

That adrenaline is an incredible motivator. When a budget is working right, things can move fast, and you’ll be surprised at how your balance starts to decrease every month. But even during those months, there are times that I failed at budgeting. Here are a couple of budget related things that I’m guilty of messing up. Any of these sound familiar?

 

1. Not Paying in Cash

At the end of every month we have our budget meeting to figure out what we expect to spend the next month. I then look at my cash categories (budget categories I’ll only pay with cash like: grocery, personal spending, eating out, and miscellaneous for us), add up the total, cash out that amount from the credit union, and deposit it into those specific envelopes. That system is stellar for keeping within your spending limits because you can only use what you have.

But one of the worst mistakes I’ve made and the most detrimental to our budget is not actually retrieving the cash and instead paying with a debit card. It can be too easy to just swipe the debit and not fully feel the impact of the price tag. Handing over a card willy nilly can throw your budget off significantly if you’re not tracking where that money is headed and how much is in route. It’s harder to feel bad about purchasing something you don’t need when you don’t exchange physical bills.

 

I’ve done it, and I’ve paid more than I wanted or expected due to not paying in cash.

 

 

2. Recording Receipts Weeks Later

Oh this one is bad! Getting behind on anything can be stressful, but having a pile of receipts that haven’t been balanced and no clue of how much money you have left to spend because you haven’t recorded those transactions can cause mayhem! Just thinking about this is stressing me out!

 

Recording what you’ve spent deducts from the total amount allowed in a given area. But without subtracting those expenses, it makes it tremendously difficult to pinpoint where you are and how much you have left. Don’t let it pile up, and take it from me, it’s a pain to wade through the receipts either paper or digital to piece it together. Chances are, you might be over budget simply by being disorganized.  Guilty!

*If you’re using cash, you know when to stop when the cash runs out, so this might pertain to debit transactions for many of you. But, honestly, I do it for cash too!

 

 

3. Not Prepping Properly for the Week’s Meals

 

I like to make a meal plan for each week and buy ingredients based on that list. But there have been times when that plan has blown away with a little cash in hand. Either I am missing an ingredient I thought I had or something went bad before I could use it.

 

Either way, I’ve been there when the meal I planned hasn’t panned out. Sometimes I consider getting take-out, other times I improvise. Regardless, make sure your shopping list includes everything. It could save you a headache later.

 

4. Eating Out

 

I enjoy cooking, but I also love eating out, so this area of my budget demands serious self-control. But there are times when the quickness of Pizza Hut pickup sounds way too enticing. I cave, I eat, I realize I went over budget.

 

It’s easy to say, “Let’s eat out just this one time,” or, “This is the last time we’re doing this this month,” but sometimes I break the rules and indulge. It’s a mistake I’m guilty of and not just once. But the firmer you are with the budget boundaries, the quicker you can reach your money goals. It’s all about diligence to the plan and being okay with sacrificing current cravings for future payoffs! Can someone please tell that to Panda Express!

 

 

5. Rolling Over Excess Expenditures to Next Month

 

Say there is something I really want or desperately need but it exceeds my personal spending for the month, there have been months where I’ve carried over that excess and deducted it from my personal cash for next month.

 

*If you are totally committed and strong, this might not be a bad thing because next month you will only use the leftover money you have allotted to you. This in theory and in real life has worked, but it can be risky because we can’t ever be certain of what next month will bring.

 

It’s possible something comes up and you have to deduct money from next month again. It can become a cycle and a dangerous one. Like I said, it can be done, but it can be difficult!

We all make mistakes with money, whether you are working a budget plan or not. It’s not uncommon to have slip ups, mostly because we are human and human things happen. It’s okay to have an imperfect budget sometimes as long as you don’t let the mistakes become perpetual. Those habits won’t help you down the road.

 

These mistakes are lessons learned and give us wisdom transitioning to a new month. Embrace them and work towards correcting them next go around.

 

What are some mistakes you’ve made with your monthly budgets? Let’s chat in the comments!

 

P.S.

It takes a certain level of motivation to stick to a budget and pay off debt, and when you’ve been in a season where your toes are hovering over the break, it can be hard to shift back. So if you’re in that boat today, then here’s some motivation. You can do it! Remember why you started and envision the sense of relief when you’ve handed the last check to the bank or pushed the “send payment” button on your student loan portal for the last time. What you’re doing is important, and the reward you will receive after that season will be more than worth it.

 

Cheers!