A New Year, A New Budget – Free Yearly Budget Planner

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As cliché as New Year’s resolutions and goals can be, I’m a sucker for a fresh start. Getting your finances in order is one of the most common resolutions people make… and often break within a couple of months or weeks.

We always want this year to be our year. To make drastic changes, and become the person we want to be.

And then we give up.

Because life happens. Things get hard. We slowly start drifting away and start forgetting about our big goal of the year.

Finances are nothing to give up on though. Your budget is so super important!

Setting up a realistic budget and sticking with it long term can provide you with so many blessings and opportunities.

Yes, it’s a ton of work and not always fun to think about or work on.

But, what if you could finally get out of debt, pay your house off early, or take that dream vacation?

It’s totally possible if you do 3 things!

1. Set up a realistic budget.
2. Make SMART goals. (Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and have a timeline)
3. Stick with it long term.

I’ve got the perfect resource to help you get started on the right foot and stick with your budget all year. It’s simple, easy to use , and totally free. Simple, easy, and free = 3 of my favorite words! 🙂

A New Year, A New Budget – Free Yearly Budget Planner

Here’s how it works:

1. Grab your free yearly budget planner.
2. Fill out the first page with your goals for the year.
3. Use each month’s budget page to write out your budget for each category and what you actually spend.
4. Try the savings tip for each month and repeat the tips that work best for you.
5. Review each month at the end of the month, and make adjustments as needed for the next month.
6. At the end of the year, fill out the yearly budget recap page. You’ll see what worked, what you can improve on, celebrate reaching your goals, and make new goals for the next year.

Extra tips:

• Get your spouse/partner on board. Have weekly or monthly meetings and discuss your goals, go over what worked the previous month, and what you want to improve on next month.
• Be realistic. Especially the first few months. The quickest way to break your budget, get discouraged, and quit altogether is to make unrealistic goals and expectations for yourself. If you are used to eating out 3 times a week and spend $200 eating out each week, don’t plan to cook every meal the whole month and spend $0 eating out. Try to reduce that category by $50, and cook one more meal at home each week.
• Don’t beat yourself up if you go over. We break our budget more often than I would like. If you get frustrated with yourself, you’ll be tempted to give up because “you just aren’t good at budgeting.” No one is good at budgeting, not at first. It’s a skill that has to be worked on constantly and develops over time.
• Celebrate when you stay under budget and when you reach your goals. Don’t let these huge accomplishments go unnoticed. Celebrate with a date night, a fancy dessert, or a small treat for yourselves.
• Keep your budget in plain sight. Make a couple of copies if you need to. Have one in your purse, one at your work station, keep a picture on your phone, and on the fridge. Whatever it takes to remind you of your budget.
• Just keep working hard and stick with it! It’s so easy to give up. People give up on their budget every day. Be part of the minority that sticks with it, keeps going when it’s hard, and feels successful and proud at the end of each month and at the end of the year.

Grab your free yearly budget planner and get started today!

What are your biggest budget concerns?

P.S. One of the easiest ways to save money is by cutting your grocery bill down. And if you want to really get control of your grocery spending, you will want to check out Grocery Budget Makeover. This course from Erin Chase, from $5 dinners, will help you stop overspending, stop wasting money, and change your grocery shopping stratgey completely. Erin has been helping people cut their grocery bills in half for the past 8 years. She’s found a system that works and can work for you, too. The class is only available 3 times a year, but be sure to get on the waitlist so you are ready when it goes live! Check it out!