Nextwave Finance

Money Motivation for the Middle of the Month

December 17th, 2007 | by rachel |

Living on a budget is not nearly as difficult at the beginning and end of the month as it is in the middle.  The days between the 10th and the 20th can be the most challenging for maintaining focus and discipline toward financial goals.  These 5 strategies will help you stay motivated during the middle of the month when it can be the most difficult.

1.  Update your records

Budgets are powerful tools because they are right in front of you “in black and white”.  In order to moderate your spending behavior, you have to have some way of evaluating where you are at a particular point in time.  If you have not been keeping track of your spending since you created the budget and paid bills at the beginning of the month, now is the time to catch up.

• Record ALL financial transactions and keep a running balance of your checking account. 
• Mark each expenditure with the appropriate spending category and total expenditures in each category so far.
• Mark all cleared transactions in your checkbook register.
• Start gathering bills for the next month in a central location so they will be available when you are ready to create the next budget.

2.  Review previous budgets to determine areas of progress

Especially if budgeting is a new practice for you, it is important to recognize any and all areas of financial improvement.  The middle of the month can be good “down time” for you to review previous budgets.  Ask yourself these questions as you review.

• What is my main financial goal?
• How is that reflected in this written budget?
• What progress have I made toward that financial goal since the last budget?
• What areas of the budget need to be adjusted?  How and why?

3.   Have A Budget Meeting

This is especially important for couples and families, but it is also helpful for singles. 

• Actually call a “budget meeting” and conduct it like a meeting…have copies of the budget for everyone to look at and some version of a “status report” of the month’s expenses so far. 
• Allow everyone to have an opportunity to ask questions and comment on what the status report shows.
• MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT.
• Take notes and point out specific areas of interest and/or concern.
• Make any adjustments that need to be made to get through the budget successfully.

4.  “Cash Out” to fill envelopes

By this time during the budget month, there may be some spending categories that you are finished with for the month.  Also, there will be some categories that are partially spent.  For any discretionary categories (clothing, gifts, entertainment), this is a good time to “cash out” any remaining allocation for those categories and use cash only for those categories for the rest of the month.  It will help you begin to make the transition to an envelope system and it will give you a very visible indication of how much money you have to work with until the next paycheck arrives.

5.  Make It Interesting

Unless money and spreadsheets and budgets are “your thing”, the process of budgeting can be overwhelming and boring.  It doesn’t have to be that way, though.  It can be fun and creative!  This is the perfect time to have some budget games or friendly competitions with CASH as the reward!

• Throw down a “no spending” challenge and see who can go the longest without spending ANY money.  The winner gets $5.
• Identify a spending category from the budget and try to spend as little as possible in that category.  Split whatever is left at the end of the month.
• Create a central location for collecting loose change.  Once every quarter, roll and deposit the money and add it to the entertainment allocation so everyone can benefit.
• Have a contest to see who can create the best meal out of ingredients that are already in the house!

There is no question that living on a budget is more of a marathon than a sprint.  That is no reason to get bogged down in the middle of each month, when the last paycheck is basically spent and the next one is still several days away!  Learn to see the middle of the month as an opportunity and, before you know it, you be back at the beginning and ready to start all over!