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Shopping diet? **Gasp** How can you say such a thing? Yes, you heard me right. One of the first things you need to do to keep a budget is go on a shopping diet!

What is a shopping diet? A period of time you set to refrain from shopping for anything that is not an absolute necessity.

1)Set a time frame for how long the shopping diet will last–one day, one week, one month, etc. for which you will not go shopping.

2)During the time set, you must agree not to purchase anything except bare necessities like:

groceries

gas

toiletries (only if you run out)

bills (rent, utilities, credit cards, insurance, etc.)

3) Agree with yourself to keep your shopping diet. If your finances are not where you want them to be, I can almost guarantee that your shopping habits are not making your finances any better.

The purpose of the shopping diet is to help you think of your buying habits. By only buying basic necessities, you will realize that there is so much you can live without. Also, you can use the time you save by not being in a store (or stores) to go over your finances, your budgeting plans, and to set some financial goals for your future!

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Everyone knows what a budget is, right? No, not everyone. This post is a basic introduction to budgets.

What is a budget? According to Merriam Webster, a budget is “a plan for the coordination of resources and expenditures.”

If you want it broken down further, a budget is a plan for managing your money. Many people cringe, cry, shudder or (fill in the blank) when they think of their budgets or lack of one or inability to keep one. It is really not that hard to make one.

How to make a budget:

1)Sit down at your computer and/or with your checkbook.
2) Figure out the total income you make each month.
3) Add up all of your necessary monthly expenses like:
rent/mortgage
utitilies
gas/commuting fees
grocery spending
medical visits
401k contributions (usually automatically deducted from your check each month)

4) Subtract necessary expenses from your total income.

5) Look at what you have left over, decide what portion of that money you want to put into savings and how much of the rest you want to allocate to other expenses like:
Clothes
Entertainment
Gifts
Dining out
Etc.

Now, try to stay within your budget. At the end of the month, see if you have any money left over in each category. Reward yourself if you were disciplined to not overspend in all categories combined! Stay tuned for more information on budgeting!

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