5 checks I make on a Monthly basis
Hey hey, its a new month which means new goals but before I get carried away with June. I have to review my finances for May to see if I am still working towards my financial goals, what went well and what didn't go too well.
In this blog post, I thought I would share with you 5 things I check each month to ensure I am making progress, no matter how small.
1. Spending
This is the main one, I track my spending all throughout the month. But the question often is, does my spending match my budget intentions? It's very easy for me to go over budget, but assessing where I tend to overspend and where I don't, allows me to readjust my budget and also put more measures in place to stick to budget.
My example: I tend to be over-budget in groceries and under budget for travel. If I don't plan, it is very easy to overspend on groceries. Therefore each month, I realize in order of having any chance of sticking to budget, I have to meal plan, conduct an inventory and shop smartly i,e in Aldi etc.
Action: Total up your spend for each of your budget categories. Does your spending align with your budget? If not, is it always the same category? What can you do to readjust this or better still stick to it?
2. Unexpected Expenses
I track my spending all throughout the month and often there are the few surprise expenses in there. Maybe it is a last minute school trip or a birthday party which often throws a spanner in my budget. Since reviewing my spending on a monthly basis, I am able to check if there are any common unexpected expenses and then plan for this in future budgets.
My example: When I first started taking my budget seriously, I noticed for the first few months there would always be an expense to do with school. Whether it was buying my son some more school shoes or paying for a school trip. It always came as a surprise. I decided to create a small 'School' category in my budget which then helped stick to my overall budget.
Action: Check whether any spends are unexpected, if so is there a common pattern? Do you feel these expenses keep cropping up? If so, why not create a budget item to plan for it. Best thing is, if nothing crops up, you can then choose where you want to spend or save that money.
3. Impulse Spends
I hold my hands up and say I am an emotional spender, whether I'm tired or I have had a bad day at work. My first action is to ‘Treat myself’ but in doing so, this leaves a massive hole in my pocket and causes me a lot of stress. Therefore noting down my impulse spends provides some form of accountability.
My example: I noticed, I would buy a takeaway every time I felt lazy and I didn't want to cook. Therefore because I realised I had spent over £80 on takeaways alone on one particular month. I had this figure in the back of my head when temptations arose and was reluctant to buy. It acted as a form of accountability which then prevented my spending. Furthermore, I often try and keep a couple of oven meals in the freezer for those lazy days such as a pizza.
Action: Check whether each spend was an impulse, be honest with yourself and question, did you really need it or was you acting based off emotion. How much was this for the month? Challenge yourself to keep your impulse spends lower than the month before.
In this blog post, I thought I would share with you 5 things I check each month to ensure I am making progress, no matter how small.
1. Spending
This is the main one, I track my spending all throughout the month. But the question often is, does my spending match my budget intentions? It's very easy for me to go over budget, but assessing where I tend to overspend and where I don't, allows me to readjust my budget and also put more measures in place to stick to budget.
My example: I tend to be over-budget in groceries and under budget for travel. If I don't plan, it is very easy to overspend on groceries. Therefore each month, I realize in order of having any chance of sticking to budget, I have to meal plan, conduct an inventory and shop smartly i,e in Aldi etc.
Action: Total up your spend for each of your budget categories. Does your spending align with your budget? If not, is it always the same category? What can you do to readjust this or better still stick to it?
2. Unexpected Expenses
I track my spending all throughout the month and often there are the few surprise expenses in there. Maybe it is a last minute school trip or a birthday party which often throws a spanner in my budget. Since reviewing my spending on a monthly basis, I am able to check if there are any common unexpected expenses and then plan for this in future budgets.
My example: When I first started taking my budget seriously, I noticed for the first few months there would always be an expense to do with school. Whether it was buying my son some more school shoes or paying for a school trip. It always came as a surprise. I decided to create a small 'School' category in my budget which then helped stick to my overall budget.
Action: Check whether any spends are unexpected, if so is there a common pattern? Do you feel these expenses keep cropping up? If so, why not create a budget item to plan for it. Best thing is, if nothing crops up, you can then choose where you want to spend or save that money.
3. Impulse Spends
I hold my hands up and say I am an emotional spender, whether I'm tired or I have had a bad day at work. My first action is to ‘Treat myself’ but in doing so, this leaves a massive hole in my pocket and causes me a lot of stress. Therefore noting down my impulse spends provides some form of accountability.
My example: I noticed, I would buy a takeaway every time I felt lazy and I didn't want to cook. Therefore because I realised I had spent over £80 on takeaways alone on one particular month. I had this figure in the back of my head when temptations arose and was reluctant to buy. It acted as a form of accountability which then prevented my spending. Furthermore, I often try and keep a couple of oven meals in the freezer for those lazy days such as a pizza.
Action: Check whether each spend was an impulse, be honest with yourself and question, did you really need it or was you acting based off emotion. How much was this for the month? Challenge yourself to keep your impulse spends lower than the month before.
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4. Credit Score
Anyone else get that dreaded feeling when they check their credit score? Oh I do, it feels like an unpaid bill but if checked with the right intentions, it can be a great way to help you stay motivated on your debt free journey. For example, a credit report is so much more than just the score, it is the payment history or the amount owed.
My example: I didn't realize a creditor had changed and therefore one of my payments from the DMP were not paid. I kept putting off making the checks as I was still paying but it was only when I saw the impact it had on my credit score I acted on this.
Action: Check your credit score frequently to ensure there is no fraud but also check (maybe some of your bills are paid on time) the impact of your handwork! I.e debt payments and utility payments.
5. Pension
It is hard to grasp why a pension is so important, we often don't benefit from this till years later. But since checking my pension an added benefit I have found is, familiarity. I still don't understand much about it but It isn't as scary as I once thought.
My example: By logging into my accounts I understand much more, what has been paid in, how the contribution works (I pay some and my employer does). I feel more confident about it.
Action: Log into your pension account and check payments have been paid and take some time to browse the site, searching any terms.
And there we have it, 5 checks I make each month, to ensure I work towards my financial goals. It gives me peace of mind knowing that I am working towards my goals even if it is at a slow rate. It all adds up.
Anyone else get that dreaded feeling when they check their credit score? Oh I do, it feels like an unpaid bill but if checked with the right intentions, it can be a great way to help you stay motivated on your debt free journey. For example, a credit report is so much more than just the score, it is the payment history or the amount owed.
My example: I didn't realize a creditor had changed and therefore one of my payments from the DMP were not paid. I kept putting off making the checks as I was still paying but it was only when I saw the impact it had on my credit score I acted on this.
Action: Check your credit score frequently to ensure there is no fraud but also check (maybe some of your bills are paid on time) the impact of your handwork! I.e debt payments and utility payments.
5. Pension
It is hard to grasp why a pension is so important, we often don't benefit from this till years later. But since checking my pension an added benefit I have found is, familiarity. I still don't understand much about it but It isn't as scary as I once thought.
My example: By logging into my accounts I understand much more, what has been paid in, how the contribution works (I pay some and my employer does). I feel more confident about it.
Action: Log into your pension account and check payments have been paid and take some time to browse the site, searching any terms.
And there we have it, 5 checks I make each month, to ensure I work towards my financial goals. It gives me peace of mind knowing that I am working towards my goals even if it is at a slow rate. It all adds up.
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