Weeding Your Budget?

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: EMMA PARKHURST, CHES, USU EXTENSION ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

Do you know where all of your money is going each month? There have been times in my life where I think to myself that I should have more money remaining after paying my monthly fixed expenses (like mortgage and student loans). Whenever this occurred, I knew it was time to go over my expenses and review my budget. In other words, time to do a little digging and trim unnecessary costs! Have you ever had a similar thought? To celebrate National Weed Your Garden Day in a different way this year, here’s a fun challenge: think of unidentified costs as weeds, and your budget as the garden. Time to get weeding! Here are three tips to get started: 

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1. Analyze your expenses: tracking your expenses can help set a clear picture of where your money is going. To get started, document each time you spend your money for a full week. Whether you use a spreadsheet, your phone, a financial app, or good old-fashioned pen and paper, find a way that works for you. If you’re comfortable with tracking your expenses after a week, keep going and try to document spending for about a month. When I first tried this in college, I quickly discovered my daily $3 coffee on my way to class was doing some damage to my budget. You may be surprised to find out where your money is going!
   
2. Trim unnecessary costs: while we all have fixed expenses, where the amount does not change and you must pay each month, there are other expenses we can reevaluate and cut if necessary. For example, are there monthly subscriptions that you don’t use? One cost my family decided to cut was cable TV since the majority of the shows we watched were on less expensive streaming services. Other ideas can include eating out less, carpooling or using public transit, reducing energy use, or meal planning before you go grocery shopping.  
3. Change spending habits: whether you decide to set a personal allowance or use mindfulness when you shop, there are changes we can make to our spending habits to maintain our budget...in other words, to keep weeds out of the garden! To identify your current habits, check out the fun resource Money Habitudes to discover your personal money habits and attitudes. 

 
Emma is a certified health education specialist and is passionate about helping others improve the quality of their lives using a holistic approach to health and wellness. She finds joy in listening to true crime podcasts, petting all the dogs, getting active outside, and finding thrift store bargains.