Challenge Yourself to Have a Balanced Budget

Everyone has a poor spending habit that makes it nearly impossible to keep a balanced budget. These bad spending habits show themselves during stressful times or during times of high drama, messing up your efforts to have a balanced budget. What is your bad spending habit that keeps you from having a balanced budget? In order to have a balanced budget (and financial success) you have to challenge yourself to gain control.

My bad habit happens to be dining out at restaurants too much, especially after adding on expensive adult beverages. This is the fastest way to bust my previously balanced budget! Because food is a simple luxury to me, avoiding restaurants is nearly impossible. But, there comes a time when we all need to make better decisions for that balanced budget we strive for.

A good way to get the ball rolling is to officially challenge yourself to focus on one budget item next month that you will keep in the "green." So, how can you challenge yourself in the upcoming month?

You might decide to cut back on your smoking habit. No, not quit, but at least cut back. I know how hard it is to quit, but cigarettes cost a fortune. Packing your lunch every day next month could save you tens of dollars, especially if done in conjunction with extreme couponing. Cut back on extra car trips--especially long ones--due to the rising gas prices. Or, simply promise to invest some time in part-time extreme couponing. To do this, gather manufacturer's coupons and combine them with store coupons, making sure to take advantage of double coupon days. In this way, extreme couponing can be something fun to do (a positive habit) while helping you achieve a balanced budget. The amount of time you will spend practicing extreme couponing will give you less time to blow money needlessly.

Getting the budgeting ball rolling only takes a little bit of a commitment, and a challenge to you yourself to focus on one item that will help you reach a balanced budget. And your efforts might just carry over to the next month.

For more information on better budgeting, take a look at my new book, The Budget of Your Life.