How do you keep budgeting ?

[Designerenvy]

Ok, a bit of background. I’ve never been great with money. I usually spend what I have, once all the bills are paid, I’m happy . The rest will be spent on God knows what half the time !
We have debts, that we have never missed a payment on. I’ve cleared the credit card . I’m working on snowballing our debt ( only started this month, so early days ) .
I do this every year ! I get stressed about money after Xmas and start budgeting and planning like crazy ! I log everything for about 4 months or so, but that’s it ! That’s not really budgeting is it ?
I log what’s coming in and going out. It makes me more conscious of my spending but doesn’t change much iykwim?
This is the first year I’m attempting the snow ball technique and I’m also trying to get a buffer together to avoid using the CC.

I was good this month, but how do you keep the motivation going ? I usually start to slip come April and by June the logging etc has gone out the window !
I’m determined this time to make it work . I’ve changed jobs and I love it ! The issue is that my wages have taken a big reduction. My DH wants to change jobs in a couple of years, which will be another wage reduction ! We need to get our debts out of the way so that we can do this and both be happier in our jobs but in less income .

Any tips would be greatly welcome on budgeting. We have no savings to speak of really. Any bit we have is tied up in loans .

We have 3 dc’s ( just for background info )

If you’re trying to control and reduce luxury/unnecessary spending then after the first month or two I’d have a look at your spend logs and assign budgets to areas of your life eg groceries £x, commute £x, clothes £x.

The next month stick to the budgets. Or better, aim to cut some of the frivolous ones down eg when you’ve reached your max takeaway budget you have to wait until the following month for another.

If you have a log you should be able to see what you can reduce and possibly by how much. If you just cut £10 from a toy budget then the following month stick the £10 in a savings pot right after you get paid then stick to the budget. Boom - now you’re building savings. Or better, chuck the £10 at the debt until it’s paid off.

Rinse and repeat and it’s amazing how it adds up!

Btw, that’s just how I do things. I’m sure there are lots of ways to approach it!

Maybe a bit of moderation throughout the year would work better for you and keep motivation up consistently rather than a huge push then flagging after a few months?

Sorry, reading my reply back it sounded a bit critical. Not meant in that way at all.

Thanks @DisappearingHelen, that sounds like a good plan. I get the logging etc but I never get beyond that. So the steps you outline sound like a plan. Thank you.
Yes, @Hopdathelf I do tend to start off all guns blazing and lose all motivation ( I’m like that with a lot of things, like dieting, exercise etc ) not a great trait to have !
I will try to be more level headed this time. Moderation isn’t inmy nature, so I’ll work on it. I have a goal this time, so hopefully that will motivate and spur me on too. Thanks for the advice.

@Designerenvy, re: motativation I set myself targets, that are challenging, but not unachievable if I stick to my budget. E.g have £X in a savingsaccount A by Sept.

And I make the target meaningful, e.g. 1 months living expenses so its easier to focus on why I need to budget.

Thank you @fluffi, yes that may well motivate me. I’ll set some targets and fingers crossed. I feel more determined this time, probably because I don’t want to have to change jobs due to finances. I’d hate to go back to my old job. So maybe that with the mini targets might spur me on. Thank you

Check out this website she paid off €10K on one income with two children.

Or try a free trial of YNAB Referral Link

Learn the concept of sinking funds - I started off small eg hen night coming up in 10 weeks time, divide the amount needed by number of pay cycles and put away each time. Or your debt divide it by number of manageable payments until you're clear.

After using YNAB for years I can now budget almost all my regular expenses and sinking funds in my sleep and then I divide what's left. I give myself and the dc pocket money weekly and anything we buy is out of that.

Thank you @Happierwithouthim , I will definitely start the sinking fund , I have 2 weekends away at the end of the year that could well send my budgeting out the window, so this is a great idea! I think my mother used to do this many years ago, to budget for big expenses like Christmas etc, in this days it was called a “ manage” .

I’ll look at that website too and must try YNAB, I’ve heard that mentioned before.
I’m really trying to get into the habit of budgeting correctly and not just living pay cheque to pay cheque, thanks for the advice !

No problem at all whatever you call it once it works for you is the main thing.

YNAB has lots of videos too, they talk about no such thing as unexpected expenses and to a point it's true, car will need tyres & service, Christmas will come, appliances will need replacing etc etc