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Trying to budget on a low income can feel like an uphill battle, especially if you live alone. But budgeting and successfully saving money is still a realistic goal.
There was a time in my life when I was lucky enough to say that my husband and I both had a combined income higher than average. It was wonderful not having to constantly worry about money. Better still, it allowed us to save for and purchase our first home. But shortly after moving, I became very ill and sadly had to leave my ‘dream job’. It was then that we had to sit down and sort our finances from a dual-earning household to a single one.
The following advice is things we still carry forward today, even with us both earning. For health reasons, I only work sixteen hours a week, with the rest of my time going into writing and illustrating. As any freelancer will tell you, some months it’s enough to cover the mortgage. Others, you’re scraping together the pennies. But budgeting successfully is still manageable even on a low income or on an unpredictable wage.
For more information on sticking to your budget, read more here.
8 Tips to help you budget on a lower income.
Remember that every month is different.
That means that although you may be earning the same each month, new challenges can arise. The car could need new tires or a tap could need fixing. Rainy Days are always just around the corner, and that means unexpected expenses.
It’s a good idea to start putting money aside before issues arise. It can be as little as twenty pounds a week or month, so long as you tuck it away into a safety pot. If you find it difficult to afford to put the same away each month, you can adjust it slightly. Or you can put in more one month than the next.
Do you want to stretch your family budget? Check out this post!
Put it into writing.
Sit down and figure out where your money goes. That is your bare essentials, your luxuries, and everything in between. And be honest! There’s no point lying to yourself about the amount you spend if you want to be successful at budgeting.
There are plenty of templates to follow online if you thrive on keeping things neat and organized. Otherwise, grab yourself a book, draw out some margins and start with your monthly rent.
Monitor your cash flow.
This is similar to the above but slightly different. You need to take the time to monitor where your money goes in more than just the monthly direct debits. Keep an eye on your day-to-day spending too. Keep hold of recipients, even the small ones such as a coffee or a packet of gum.
Keep a folder, an old purse, or even a zip lock of all your old receipts. If you use any apps for shopping, remember to check back in your order history. There will always be places you forget to look for expenses, so don’t beat yourself up if you’re not always accurate.
Budgeting for the whole family? Check out this post for some simple, family budget planning advice.
Set realistic goals.
Don’t fool yourself. You’re not going to be able to save fifty per cent of your income if sixty already goes on housing costs. Save what you can, but don’t leave yourself short on essentials. Sit down and create some SMART goals. That is that they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-sensitive.
Build a plan that works for you.
As is the theme with this entire post, your budget is specific to you. You can read all the budget blogs that you want, but not everything is going to apply. Instead, take bits from all of them, and combine them to suit your needs. Maybe you’re not saving for a home and instead, you’re after your first car. Great! Tailor your plan to suit. Don’t have monthly travel expenses, but pay for better internet to work from home? Let’s work around it and make a suitable plan.
Do you work from home? Maybe you’re planning on starting a side hustle? Great! Check out this post!
Be more mindful about what/where you spend.
Do you really need that coffee from Starbucks in the morning? Wouldn’t it be better to get a travel mug and make your own at home? Every little bit adds up, so be smart.
Find free or affordable forms of entertainment.
Netflix and Disney + are amazing, I can’t lie. I have them both and often beat myself up about it. But before this there was YouTube, borrowing DVD’s from friends and even, dare I suggest it, streaming. You can also cut costs by going ‘halfers‘ with friends or family on a streaming service of your choice.
But don’t forget about entertainment outside screen time. There are plenty of other things you can do for fun that don’t cost a dime! Go for a walk and play Pokemon Go, take on a cost-effective hobby, or have a virtual coffee date with a mate.
Here are some interesting ways you can save money during the summer holidays!
Comparison shop.
Don’t just go with the first deal you come across. Always compare big purchases such as insurance deals and buying new technology. You don’t always have to go with the cheapest option if it doesn’t tick all the boxes. But there are some cheaper deals available with the same benefits as those from more expensive, well-known companies.
Have you found any other ways to help you manage your budget?
very intresting
Great tips! It’s so frustrating how everything is going up in price so much. A budget is much needed.
Corinne x
What great eight tips for a better budget! We do not budget as much as we should, and these tips will help. Thank you for sharing.
I particularly love the emphasis on prioritizing needs, cutting unnecessary expenses, and finding ways to increase income. It’s so empowering to know that budgeting and saving money is achievable regardless of income level. Thank you for offering valuable insights and guidance!
This is a great list of tips to have a successful budget! I recently heard that a budget is necessary even if you’re debt free. I personally like to use mint.com for my budget. It’s free and it pulls all my transactions in from my multiple bank accounts into one place.
It’s impressive that you have found a way to balance work and personal projects while still being financially responsible. Your advice on budgeting is incredibly valuable, especially for those (like me) who may be on a low income or have an unpredictable wage. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience.
These are great tips to get finances under control. Creating a good budget and finding free sources of entertainment has been key for my family! Great tips!
Staying within a budget is so important! Having a little extra for rainy days is always a good idea!
Really great tips for living within our means and mastering our finances! I’ve been doubling down on teaching my teens the importance of a budget…I’ll be sharing these tips with them as well!
I now have a budget binder that I don’t go anywhere without. I love to see the savings and i also love to see how mu h is in the tabs every week. It’s just me so I don’t spend that much but I like to see the savings rack up.
Very good tips! I keep a “money journal” where I take note of cash flow, expenditures, and savings. It is easier for me to keep track of expenses and know where we can cut costs and save more.
I’ve always been horrible with budgeting, but luckily I have a husband who is all about numbers and finances. These are some really great tips and I’m hopeful we can teach our daughter the necessary tools to succeed with budgeting and finances.
These are some great tips to help save money. I will be looking to save money especially as I start university in September. Thank you for sharing.
Lauren
These are awesome tips – we just purchased our first home a couple of months ago and budgeting has been a huge shift compared to when we were renting. I LOVE comparison shopping and it’s always great to save yourself even just a couple of dollars, each time that adds up over time to bigger savings.
Ooh fab tips here! I think I really need to work on monitoring my cash flow as well as being more mindful with my spending, I tend to be a bit of an impulse buyer which can be quite the issue! Thanks for sharing x
Putting it all in writing has saved me more times than I can remember. I highly encourage whoever is running a budget to write every single number and letter where money has made way to and fro.
Budgeting is so important and these are awesome tips
This post will help so many people. We’ve struggled financially for the last year due to over commiting and then reduced income due to COVID.
I am just about to amend our money plan, following my redundancy and all these points are relevant to me right now.
Thank you 👍
I’m all about this. I also have a rule that I don’t buy anything big for 30 days after “wanting” it. Most times, after the days have passed, I don’t want it anymore and realize it was just an impulse.
Great article! The newbies can definitely learn on this. It’s essential to save up nowadays as it’s always uncertain like the pandemic.
These are great tips. It is important to set realistic and practical goals.
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
These are some really helpful suggestions and something to think about when making bigger purchases. I like to do my research to make sure I am getting the best deal I can. Thank you for sharing.
Lauren – http://www.bournemouthgirl.com
Great information and perfect timing for me! One of my New Year’s resolutions is to spend less and save more this year. Excellent tips!
I struggle with trying to budget and save. These are good pointers for creating a budget that works.
Great tips. I agree putting it into writing and being more mindful of your spending is so important. Being more mindful with my spending is something I am really going try and do this year.
Budgeting has a vital role in everyone’s life. And monitoring cash flow is very essential and I guess it is the first step to plan our budget. You have mentioned great points.
Setting realistic goals is the first step here. Often, we set broad, almost impossible and vague goals
We have a lot of digital apps or planners when we can monitor our expenses but I still prefer pen and paper. These are great tips to have a better budget for 2022. I do a lot of them.
My big goal for this year is to have a better budget. Thank you for these tips!
Monitoring your cash flow is a great way to be aware of your spending habits. And when you are understand your habits, you can make them better
Great tips! These will help a lot to save money. Being more mindful will be handy when we need to save money. thank you for sharing!
I manage well my income and expenses. It’s always important to budget and to have a clear view of your personal finance and save more for the future. I think I consider all points mentioned by you. Thanks for sharing! Very useful tips.
I can totally relate myself to this post. I used to spend lots of money every day for coffee and food since I would be more than 12 hour a day outside. Lockdown and work from home helped me realize exactly how much money I was wasting that way. Now, I always question whether I really need something.
Comparison shopping is a great tip! Often I’m in a rush to get something, but if I plan better I can save a bit more with research.
I am obsessed with budgeting, and I agree that writing the numbers down is important. And, we have found lots of free museums, parks, and events in our area. We always have a good time without breaking the bank.
I’m finally starting to figure out budgeting. I can use all the tips I can get.
These are all great tips! I never budgeted but I really should start, mostly because I tend to have those small shops or run at the shop that adds up at the end of the month, so these will be helpful to star off x
Love these tips! I try to write down everything I spend and also colour code it to say whether it was a worthwhile purchase or not x
Some great tips! I always try to be monitor where my money goes so I can see what habits I need to work on. Also, if I ever want to buy something online I leave it in my basket for 24-48 hours and if I’m still thinking about those items then I know it’s not just an impulse purchase.
Tash x
This was a much needed refresher for me as I am looking to overhaul my finances and budgeting — thanks for these tips, they were really easy to understand and didn’t feel so overwhelming.
These are amazing tips. We set up a budget plan for this year. Our goal is to buy a bigger home by end of year. Will be following some
Of these tips.
Thank you for sharing, I think setting realistic goals is so important- you don’t need to be overly-ambitious to still budget well x
These are really great tips! My husband and I have a budget plan. We would like to retire a lot earlier than “normal” so, it’s important for us to not spend money on things that won’t get us to our goal.
Maureen |
Some great tips! I don’t budget much partially because I’m really quite lazy about it. I’d rather just get the thing done or get the thing bought. But I need to start thinking about it a bit more now so these are a great place to start x