Building a Budget – Maintaining Your Budget Long-Term
The budget you’ve constructed is only going to be useful if it can stand the test of time. You need to maintain and adjust your budget periodically to make sure it continues to work. Watch this video to learn how to do routine budget maintenance.
Once you have your budget set, it’s important to maintain the financial structure that you’ve built.
Your financial house needs regular maintenance.
You want to check in periodically to make sure that the structure is sound and that everything still fits together like it did when you originally set it.
If you see that things aren’t fitting together quite right, then you need to make some adjustments. If this happens, don’t be alarmed, your budget changes over time, just like you do.
If one expense building block turns out to be bigger than you thought it would be, other expenses around it may need to be reduced to make everything fit together soundly.
And if you have a new expense that you need to add in, look to remove or scale back some discretionary expenses first.
Don’t forget, the needs of your financial house will change based on the season and your situation. So, check that your budget is ready for the different weather.
<ON-SCREEN TEXT: holidays, birthdays, vacations, school, marriage, children, retirement>
As you expand your financial house with more income over time, make sure to be smart about what you build on the new foundation, so it stays stable.
And always build in additional savings first.
If you have debt, set new income to pay it off first before you start adding in more trimmings and discretionary expenses you and your financial house don’t really need.
Once you have a solid house with well-stacked savings and no debt, you can start indulging in those luxury additions that you want.
Finally, if you see your financial house is unstable, don’t be afraid to call in a team of professionals that can help you construct a more solid structure, such as a nonprofit credit counselling service.
Because with the right team behind you, you can build the best financial house for your needs.
