How Budgeting Can Reduce Stress In Your Life
It can be easy for the fast-paced pressures of daily life to cause stress. Having to manage work and family life all while taking care of your home can consume a lot of time and money. As is the nature of life, unexpected expenses are bound to crop up from time to time, and they can quickly become stressful if you’re not financially prepared. Fortunately, establishing a realistic budget can help to alleviate some of that stress. Keep reading to find out how.
Building a financial safety net
A large portion of financial stress often comes from receiving emergency bills and not
knowing how you’re going to pay. This is where budgeting comes in. By carefully analyzing your income and expenses, you can get a clearer picture of your financial situation, allowing you to start to plan out which expenses are necessary and if any funds could be set aside.
Setting aside even a small amount of money each month can be incredibly helpful in
establishing an emergency fund. When you know you have some funds set aside specifically to cope with last-minute expenses, you can face these challenges head-on, knowing you’re financially prepared.
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Taking control of your spending
Budgeting allows you to see exactly where your money is going each month. You may think that a few small purchases here and there wouldn’t make much of a difference to your finances, but even small purchases can quickly add up. It can be really helpful to see your expenses over the span of a month, helping you to realize where you could be overspending and instead, reallocate that spending to more essential expenses.
For example, expenses such as rent or mortgage payments, groceries, and transportation should always come first, but it can be hard to ensure that without knowing where your money is going and how much you can afford to spend.
Ways To Save Money:
Here at Freedom In A Budget, I am all about saving money! Here are some of the EASY ways that I save money:
- Easily cancel unwanted subscriptions with the Rocket Money App! 80% of people save money by using Rocket Money to find and cancel unwanted subscriptions!
- Upside App: Earn 20 cents per gallon on gas cash back when you download the app and use code FIAB20.
- Fetch Rewards is a free grocery savings app that rewards you just for snapping pictures of your receipts. That’s it. Really. Free gift cards on groceries on thousands of products every day, no matter where you get your groceries. Just scan your receipts and get gift cards from retailers like Amazon, Target, Ulta, Applebees.
- CIT Bank offers high interest savings accounts and CDs to provide a safe, secure way to earn money grow your savings.
- Rakuten/Ebates: Rakuten is my to go way to earn Cash Back from over 2,500 stores like Macy’s, Amazon, Sephora, Walmart and much more. Join Rakuten today for free, and you’ll get a $30 Cash Bonus to get you started! Every three months, you’ll get a Big Fat Check in the mail or a PayPal payment just for shopping.
- Budget Templates: Excel budget templates with pre-populated categories and formulas to keep you on track with hitting your financial goals.
Reducing debt reliance
People with little financial education can also rely on credit cards, loans and other forms of debt that can easily become overwhelming. With high-interest rates, these
options can quickly turn a small amount of money into a number that can feel impossible to pay off. Fortunately, budgeting can help to reduce this by not only limiting the amount of purchases you feel the need to put on a credit card and helping you form a repayment plan for existing debt. After all, as your debt increases, so does your stress.
While it may seem as if stress is lurking around every corner in life, there is a way forward to work towards overcoming financial stress. Budgeting is not only about managing your money but about managing your mental well-being. So, if you’ve been feeling the weight of financial strain, start by setting up a basic budget. Even if it’s not perfect, just getting an idea of where your money is going and what you can afford can really help to reduce stress.
Grab your Ticket!
This year I’ll be speaking at the Get Organized HQ Virtual Summit!
Get Organized HQ Virtual is your one-stop shop for all things life + home organization. It’s a 5-Day Online Event that starts on Monday, Sept 11 and centers around practical, real-life strategies for creating homes filled with more peace and less stress.
I repeat, MORE PEACE AND LESS STRESS!
I’ll be speaking on Shifting Away from the Scarcity Mindset alongside:
- Cas from The ClutterBug
- Frugal Fit Mom
- Dana K. White
- The Secret Slob
- The Minimal Mom
- … just to name a few!
✨Access all of the talks immediately and get lifetime access to 100+ talks
I am so excited to tell you that the doors are open to claim your FREE TICKET to this year’s Get Organized HQ Virtual Event, (and for a limited time…tickets are FREE)!
If you’ve been wondering how you can better simplify your schedule, streamline your family’s routines, manage your budget, or take back control of your time – Get Organized HQ Virtual has you covered!
And if you’ve ever wished you could sit down and have coffee with someone (or a group of someones) who is totally non-judgy and knows exactly which steps you should take next to get your life and home running smoothly – You do not want to miss this year’s Get Organized HQ Virtual Event!
All the most important details, including the list of this year’s speakers and the topics that will TRULY transform your life are right here.
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