Nobody said budgeting had to be boring, and it’s unfortunate many people still see it that way. We’re talking about six things that paint budgeting in a new light — and maybe finally get you on board with it!
Make It Visually Appealing
If you’re an artistic person, going ham on the visuals can turn budgeting from a boring habit to creative expression.
Use markers, colored pencils, color-coded envelopes, charts, stickers — whatever you need to make it more fun for yourself. Bullet journaling is a common way to track your life in a colorful way, and you can do the same thing with your budget. As long as it’s legible, it’s valuable!
Recruit a Friend
There’s nothing better for instilling a new habit than an accountabili-buddy. Ask a friend or family member if they’d be interested in budgeting together. This will be your go-to person to check in with, share tips, and get inspiration from when you’ve hit a snag (or celebrate with when you hit a milestone).
Make Personal Finance Fun
Most things in life are “boring” because we’re looking at them from the wrong angle; think about how many kids’ shows present complex ideas with silly colors and high-pitched voices to get them to sink in.
Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you can’t take a similar approach!
Listen to a more relaxed podcast about finances rather than reading a book if that’s more your speed.
Pair It With Another Routine
Are you used to sitting down at your laptop with a cup of coffee every morning and opening your email? Great, now you’re going to set up a folder to have your email open up together with your budget.
Pairing new routines with existing ones is not only a way to make them more appealing, but it’ll help them stick. Habit-stacking is basically a free tip to help get yourself to do just about anything, so give it a try if you’re the kind of person for whom nothing else seems to work.
Set Easy Goals First
If you’re the kind of person who avoids budgeting because you’re afraid of overwhelming spreadsheets and not meeting expectations, here’s a neat trick: lower those expectations to the point where you’ll meet them by default.
Almost everyone can set aside $5 a week; start there, pat yourself on the back for a job well done (and consistently done), and it’ll be much easier to move on to more complicated steps.
Bribe Yourself
We are reward-driven creatures, especially in the short term. It’s much harder to convince yourself that having a house in ten years is worth ignoring the enticing ice cream sundae sitting smack-dab in front of you.
But who said you couldn’t have both?
Set savings goals and reward yourself for hitting them.
These don’t have to cost money (and it’s arguably better if they don’t), but there’s nothing wrong with a sushi night now and then — especially if it means you’ve cut down your sushi nights by 90% by promising yourself one for having delicious success.
