Why Your Budget Fails After October (And How to Fix It!) | 80

0:00 The budget that maybe you made in January, maybe that was one of your New Year's goals. And you're like, I'm going to do this. This is the year I get my financial stuff together. And it just didn't happen, right? Because life gets in the way. And the one thing I have learned in this whole process of budgeting of over all a months and all the years that I have done this trial and error, is the budget you made last month is going to be different than the one you made this month. Hey there, I'm Jules the budget nerd and welcome to the Debt Rebel show.

0:27 This is the place where working families like yours learn how to stop living paycheck to paycheck, crush debt for good, and build a life where money actually works for your family. In about 15 minutes, I'll share practical family budgeting tips, tough love strategies, and actionable steps to move toward debt free living without the fluff, the shame, or the confusion. And I know a thing or two about this. My family and I have eliminated over $107,000 in consumer debt. And that was after I got my degree in economics.

0:58 So stay tuned. This is going to be a great episode. So grab that coffee, your planner, whatever you need to make this a great experience, maybe a snack if you're like me. And let's make your money work for your family. All right, hello and welcome today's episode. Why budgets don't survive past October or why the budget you tried to create in January is a complete bust. OK, so let's just let's just get right to it. Most budgets that you make in January are completely shot by October. And let me tell you why, because real life got in the way.

1:35 And one thing that I have learned in the I don't even know how many months I've created budgets, I'm including one that I forgot. I think that's episode 38 where I actually, since I teach people how to make budgets and I actually forgot to make a budget one month using the system that I've created. They didn't go back into debt. So check that episode out, episode 38. But the budget that maybe you made in January, maybe that was one of your New Year's goals. And you're like, I'm going to do this.

2:03 This is the year I get my financial stuff together. And it just didn't happen, right? Because life gets in the way. And the one thing I have learned in this whole process of budgeting of over all the months and all the years that I have done this trial and error is the budget you made last month is going to be different than the one you made this month and vice versa. Like every single month is going to be different. Your budget last year at this time is going to be different because different things matter to your family as the months and the years go by.

2:33 So our priorities change. Things shift for us. Sometimes we have things like those surprise car repairs we have, we have birthday celebrations that we want to do for our kids. We have school fees. We have, you know, holiday travels coming up, like all of these things come in and that's all real life stuff. So one of the things that I love teaching is what is most important to you this month. And that's why I teach a value based 0 based budget because you make a plan for your money now for the month that you're we're going into and you're going to be more likely to succeed at your budget.

3:08 But there are some things that we do in that process. I'm going to go over those today. But I want you to hear me say you are not bad with money, OK? So we kind of can get in these thought processes where we're like, man, I'm just not going to make a budget because I'm just really bad with money. So I want to call BS on that. And that's not true. That is a lie. So let's reframe that today. And because your budget that you might have made that you are having a hard time following or maybe you've tried it before and you're like, I'm not doing it.

3:40 It wasn't made to survive real life and raising kids and just the day-to-day stuff that can come up with our money. And so I want to talk about some main points today of why those things don't happen for us, why we can't, we feel like we can't stick to a budget and why like here we are in October and maybe it's, you know, you, you've created 1:00 earlier this year and you're like, OK, this is it. And it just life happens. So one thing is we overcomplicate it. This is an area that we, it's really our budget is spending the money that we make, nothing more and nothing less.

4:17 So we can get into these cycles where we overcomplicate things and it has to look a certain way. We focus on percentages, know we want to make sure that our housing is this percentage. I those are great guidelines to help you see where you compare, but I also think comparison is a awful place to get to when it comes to your budget. But the other thing is when it comes to those percentages or maybe it, you know, it needs, you want to have all these like huge breakdowns of things is if we're overcomplicating it for ourselves, then we're not not going to we're not going to follow it.

4:51 I do for my personal budget, I do create extra categories and that's because if I don't put those in there, I'll forget them. And so that just keeps it friend of mine. But I just skim through those when it's not something for that month. So when we over complicate it, that's when we can overwhelm ourselves. We want a budget that will fit your lifestyle and not look like, you know, a finance textbook. That's like, OK, you need 35% of your income is going to go to housing. Well, you know what, if you're in a season of life where you're some of those expenses are going to be higher, but that is a something that you've decided as a family, then that's what you do.

5:30 Maybe you know, you're focused on food right now because your family is is growing. Your family is focused on health and we need to spend, we need to spend money on groceries and feeding our family. All right, the next one is we can get into a routine where we're not updating our budgets regularly. So when you make that budget in January, your life looks very different in October than it did in January, am I right? So think about what the new year hit and you're like, okay, these are the things that are important to us now.

6:04 And you know what, things are very different now because maybe you know, your kids false sports season started or a medical bill comes up. Or can we talk about gas prices, something that's out of our control, but it affects us, right? So and we don't make adjustments for that. So for instance, with the gas prices, we're going to have to increase our gas budget. If you're driving the same amount as you were in January and you're driving that same amount in October, but gas prices went up, then you're going to have to allocate some more of your paycheck to gas for getting to and from work in that October budget.

6:40 So that kind of that goes to why I thought when we don't update, when we don't update our budget regularly, one of the reasons why it fails is we're just using outdated numbers. So maybe you set a timer for yourself and you're just like, hey, you know what, 10 minutes, I'm going to it's a reoccurring appointment. If you're part of the alliance coaching program, we do this as a community and you just spend a few minutes looking over your budget and to say, hey, does this look realistic for what life is right now?

7:08 So remember that your budget is not a museum artifact. It is something that's changing and evolving and growing at all times. So just because you started it out one way the beginning of the year doesn't mean that it needs to stay that way. And it needs to be super rigid. You need to be able to go with the flow. The next is no fun. Money is built in. OK, so this is a really big one for my self and our family. And this right here has cut down on our money fights or our money discussions. Like it was almost overnight that this that implementing this eliminated a lot of those are we still talk about money, but it is not as heated and as emotional as it used to be.

7:50 And So what is fun money? OK, so I have clients that call it all kinds of things like ball out money. You know, it's, you know, it's it's Karen's coffee fund, whatever you want to call it. It is money that is yours to decide what you do with if you are managing your finances with a spouse and then you agree on all of those spending categories together, except for you each have your broke out fund money. So that could be a line item in your budget that you each get and the other person can't say anything about it.

8:21 So for instance, so my husband and I, we each have our fun money. He can spend his however he wants to. And I cannot say a thing about it if I think he's being wasteful or like, why did you buy that it? I can think God in my head all I want. I cannot say it out loud, right? So that cuts down on a huge amount of our money, our money. But what is it? Misalignments or disagreements? Because we aren't having those conversations anymore if that's the thing that we can control. And we have, you know, looked at our overall income and said this is the amount that is going to be OK for us to spend without.

8:59 We don't have to check in with each other about it. It's already a mutually agreed upon when we set our budget for the month. And it also doesn't put us in like a financial prison. So it's not like we can't go out and do fun things and enjoy our life and have a coffee. The thing is, it's not about restriction. And that's where this fund money comes in. Now you don't want it to be, you know, 75% of your budget if you're in debt and you're, you know, trying to make some progress on your financial goals and that fund money amount might be a little bit lower.

9:30 That's something that you agree on with. If you're managing your money with someone else, you agree on that with them. Or if you are managing your money solo, then you find out what is that amount that's going to be comfortable so that I'm not feeling super restricted and I can't go to target. I can't do some of the things that I want to and have those impulse buys. Because when we put ourselves in such a cage, then we are going to rebel. And that's, that's where we to get really off the rails. It's not about putting your, it's not about punishment, but it's about setting yourself up for success.

10:05 And so this is how you do it. So whether that's your, you know, your family has a pizza night or whatever, whatever that looks like for your family is have that guilt free spending in there. And it, you can call it whatever you want. You can call it your guilt free spending. And each person has that amount set out because it's you're going to have better long term success when you do that versus just keeping the rain so tight. Earn your money that you don't have any fun and you don't enjoy it. Awesome.

10:31 All right, so the next one is accountability. Now, if you've been listening to the show for very long, I talk about this pretty regularly because this is one of the areas that I want didn't really realize that what we needed, but also existed. And so that's one of the things that I'm super passionate about as a financial coach is the accountability. And it's not like, Oh my gosh, how did you spend your money this month? It is talking about what is most important to you and your family and reminding you and checking in with you on those things.

11:03 And so when we don't have that accountability, we kind of operate in a vacuum and we can get off track and we can lose sight of our goals. And so that's why when you go to the gym, having a workout buddy, same, you know, you're more likely to show up and do and do the fitness if you have someone that you're going to be accountable with. And the same thing goes for your money. That's why I've created the coaching membership the way that I have. It's community of other people that are on the same path, might be in a little bit different part of the journey than you, but we're all headed towards the same direction and so accountability is huge.

11:38 I didn't know that financial coaches existed when we were going through our debt elimination process. That's what I am, that's what I do, that's what I how I help families eliminate debt and get their finances organized so that their budget or their spending plan matches what matters most to you. And when you have that accountability, you're going to be able to be more successful. And that's one of the biggest takeaways that people have inside my program is that you know what? I feel empowered to make the choices and do the things.

12:07 And I know when I'm, I'm confident in the decisions I'm making because I've learned the process and I can, I can move forward with confidence. Some quick ways that you can build in some accountability if you're not part of the alliance coaching program is have those check insurance with your spouse or find an accountability partner to check in and say, Hey, you know what? You know, I really, I really want to make an extra payment on my car this month. And I'm trying to figure out, OK, where are some things that maybe I could kind of, you know, shift around so that I have that extra, maybe it's an extra $100 that you want to find or maybe you want to, you know, create a little side hustle.

12:48 And it's someone to kind of bounce ideas off and to talk through it with. You can also send me a voice note. I have a new feature. You can send me a voice note and you might have it played here on the podcast. But I would love to hear your questions, your thoughts, be able to provide you some encouragement in this process. So you can send me a voice note. It's at speakpipe.com/that Rebel podcast. It'll also be in the show notes, but I want to hear what part of your budget keeps tripping you up, What area do you need some extra accountability?

13:19 And I'd love to help provide that for you because like I said, this is 1 area for myself that just didn't. We were just my husband and I. We were just trying to hold each other accountable. And that is really good when you're on the same page and you're going the same direction. But for a while we weren't. And so it created, it was, it was very challenging. But now that we're on that same, that same page and we're on that same path together, we just do our, our little check insurance to make sure that hey, we're still on the right path and that our goals are the same.

13:49 Or if we need to shift those at any point, then we have we have those check insurance. So if you don't have that person for you, I would love to be that person. So send me a voice note and let me know how I can best support you. All right, so to wrap up today, I, I want to say your budget is not the thing that's failing you, it's your system. So a budget is adapting and growing and it's like this living thing and it just keeps changing and growing and evolving. It's kind of like our kids, right?

14:19 Like they start out as these babies and then we're like, OK, I've got this stage of parenting figured out and then that changes again, right? So we're constantly evolving and changing and it's the same thing with our money because as our kids change and grow, their needs change and grow. And so that same something was going to happen and be mirrored in our budget. So remember, you're not failing with money. You just have a system that is not set up for success. And that's one of the reasons why the show is called the Debt Rebel Podcast, because that's something that I strongly believe I have seen for myself.

14:56 I can do all of the I can learn all of the things about money. I got a degree in economics and then my husband and I still ended up in $107,000 in debt. It is our system because you are taught that we need to use credit cards to survive on a day-to-day basis. And I have found for myself in our family that that is not a win for us because it's just a false safety net. It's like a safety net with a gigantic hole in it. And so we have changed. We have changed our mindset in that that's where this podcast was grown from and a lot of the stuff that I teach because we have learned that there's another way to do life and that is without credit cards and without using debt to get ahead.

15:40 So if this episode made you realize that maybe your budget needs a little reset, I don't want you to panic because I have a tool for you that's going to be so helpful. And it's called the Debt Rebel Starter Kit and you can get that on my website. And it is a simple 0 based value based budget. It's going to give you the step by step framework so that you can stop living paycheck to paycheck. It's not like a complicated spreadsheet or anything like that. It's going to just give you a plan that like grows and evolves with your life instead of feeling like you're just like dragging along this spreadsheet or this budget that's not working for you.

16:19 It's going to empower your family to make sound financial decisions that match what matters most to you and your family. So you can grab that on my website, debtrebelpodcast.com and you can start building that budget so that you don't have to worry about the budget that you set in January about making sure that it it is the same in October. It's not going to be, but it's going to change and evolve and grow with you. And that's what the Debt Rebel Starter Kit is. So it sets you up so that you can evolve and grow with your budget.

16:51 Hope that this episode was helpful for you and I would love to hear from you. Make sure you send me a voice note. The link is in the show notes here. I would just love to hear what your take away is and if you have a part of your budget that's just really tripping you up, send me a note and you could be on the next episode of the Debt Rebel podcast. Thank you for tuning into the Debt Rebel show today. Ready to take your family budgeting to the next level, stop that paycheck to paycheck grind and start living debt free?

17:20 Head over to my website debtrebelpodcast.com. That's DEBTREBEL podcast.com. Grab resources, tools and tips to make it happen. And don't forget, subscribe, leave a review. And if you know another family that will love hearing today's episode, it would be such a gift for both of us, your friend and me. If you share this episode and remember your debt free life starts with one brave step and I'm cheering you on every step of the way. We'll talk soon. Debt Rebel.