Tag Archives: Money

Why Your Budget Doesn’t Work

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There’s a reason why people don’t like to budget or even think about money. That’s because it’s hard work making a spending plan that is reasonable and that you can stick to in your daily life. We’re willing to wager that most people who make a budget plan to stick with it but fail for a handful of reasons.

The Problem:

It’s Unrealistic– Many people write out the budget they think they should have but set unrealistic expectations for themselves by not budgeting fairly for every expense. Be honest. If you spend $10 on lunch every workday, that’s $50 a week. Don’t budget $25 thinking it will force you to change your patterns. It will not.

The Fix– Plan for all of your expenses. That includes your weekend entertainment, school clothes for the kids, birthday gifts and whatever guilty pleasure that makes your life happy. Ignoring these expenses won’t make them go away but you will be unprepared when they pop up.  Also, with the cost of everything on the rise, budget a little high to make sure you have enough.

The Problem:

You’re Not Really Committed – A budget is meant to be your spending plan. Unfortunately, it you’re not committed to actually following through with that plan, it will fail. It’s up to you to put that plan to work by monitoring your spending within each category. You can either adjust your spending or adjust your budget to accommodate your spending. If you make a budget but never open it, you’re not really committed. If family members aren’t aware of the budget or ignore it, their lack of commitment will be a hurdle as well.

The Fix– Factor the budget into your daily life. Every time you want to spend money, ask yourself if it’s in the budget. Check in on the budget every day or every couple of days to make sure you’re on track. Better yet, check in every time you spend money by logging every dollar and dime as you spend it. Talk to your spouse and use it as a teachable moment to help your kids understand how money and spending work when you are running a household.

The Problem:

Poor Budgeting Method – There are numerous methods you can employ to build your budget. Some like pen and paper. Lots of people like to enter the data into spreadsheets and even more seem to appreciate websites and phone apps that can automate the process. If you carry your budget around with you on your phone, it’s easier to track expenses and to remain conscious of how much money you have at your disposal. But if you choose an app when you’re really into something old school, it is harder to be enthusiastic.

The Fix – Don’t be afraid to experiment or to combine methods. A paper budget can be kept in a visible area where you will see it every day but you may benefit from tracking expenses in an app on your phone. Don’t give up! Experiment until you find the right method for your lifestyle.

The Problem:

You’re Short On Money – You can write down anything you like but, if you’re short on funds, it is hard to make a budget where you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul.  Remember, your budget is about money in and money planned to go out.

The Fix –  The solution may not be easy but you need to either lower expenses or increase your income. That could mean refinancing your home, selling a vehicle or buckling down to pay off old debt. It could mean finding a higher income job, taking on a side hustle or selling some things to help you get caught up. If you are accumulating credit card debt because of extravagant purchases or vacations you cannot afford, it’s time to stop those bad spending habits cold turkey. In other words, your budget problems may not be about money so much as changing habits. Most likely, you will need to employ a few strategies to make ends meet.

Do you recognize any of these problems? How will you take control of your finances to build a budget that works for you?

Sticking To A Budget

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Earlier this month we talked about how to make a budget. While budgeting can be an intimidating topic, the process of writing a budget is actually quite simple. The hard part is actually sticking to your budget and that’s what we want to talk about today.

Read your budget – Even the best planned budget does no good if you don’t read and follow it. If you’re feeling a desire to spend money, pull out your budget and see how you planned to spend your money. Then decide if that extra purchase is worth it.

Sleep on it – If it’s not something you need, sleep on it before you buy. Do you really need a room sized television? Would you still need it if it weren’t on sale? Give it a few days or a week and see if you still think it’s important to buy now.

Know your weaknesses – What are the budget busters that you encounter the most? What are the weaknesses that you wrestle with the most? For many it’s take-out after work because no one wants to leave a stressful job to go home and cook.

Be prepared – If you know your weakness is eating out on workdays, take time to meal plan or even keep some convenience foods in the freezer to make getting dinner on the table easier. A frozen pizza and a bagged salad are cheaper than fast food and could even be quicker than swinging by a drive-thru. If your weakness is shopping, plan other forms of entertainment than browsing your favorite store. A movie marathon, playground time with the kids or practicing a favorite hobby might be better options than shopping.

Make allowances – Having a budget doesn’t mean you can’t have the things you enjoy. If you don’t want to surrender that fast food habit or have a weakness for new shoes or video games, write those expenses into your budget. Give yourself an allowance for those fun purchases. Reduce your grocery budget and write in a dining out allowance if you know this is a priority.

Make a list – Planning is your friend when it comes to sticking to your budget. Keep a running list of things that you will need to buy and then work them into your budget. Better yet, time those purchases with sales if you can. Don’t discount the importance of taking a shopping list to help keep you on track at the grocery store too.

Reframe your thinking – Before you buy, ask yourself how much you have to work to afford that item. People rarely connect their purchases with their time and labor. How many hours will you have to work to pay for that gaming system, a night out on the town or that plane ticket? You work hard for your money. Is it worth the time you’ll invest to afford it?

Make it a game – Try a No Spend Challenge. You can set your own rules but the most common no spend challenge is to pay bills and buy necessities but nothing else for a month. It’s a manageable way to curb spending for a period of time and see how much money is left after the bills are paid when you aren’t eating out, shopping and making impulse buys.

Avoid temptation – If you know you don’t have extra money to spend, stop tempting yourself. Avoid store browsing, stop perusing all those marketing emails and take away your own credit card. You can’t spend if you don’t have access to money!

Be realistic – You’re going to make mistakes. However, slipping up and spending too much this weekend doesn’t give you license to go crazy and to throw out the entire budget. Just forgive yourself and get back on track. While you’re at it, take a look at how you’re spending your money. Are you spending a lot on wants while struggling to pay for needs? Is there room to trim things that you don’t care about in favor of retirement savings and expenses that are important? Having a realistic view of your money and your habits will go a long way toward sticking to your budget and knowing where your money is going.

It’s true. Sticking to a budget can be hard. It’s also stressful not knowing where your money goes. A little planning and mindful decision making can go a long way toward helping you stay on track. When you do make a mistake, try making better decisions and do better next time. Like anything else, it gets easier with time!

Not sure how to get make a budget? Read about that by clicking here and to find 31 ways to save money by clicking here. Are you a budgeting pro? What are your tips? Comment and share your ideas!

Budgeting 101

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The hardest part of any budget is getting started. Gather your income and bills and just dive in!

Whether you are a spender or a saver, one of the scariest words in the English language is the word BUDGET. Where do you start? Is it hard to make one? What’s it really meant to accomplish? More importantly, how do you stick to a budget?

First, take a deep breath and know that there is nothing scarier than not knowing what happens to all your money. Your budget is just a tool to help you determine where your money goes. It’s that simple.  

The best way to get started is to work on one month at a time.

Before you begin

Choose your tools – You need to decide if you want your budget to be digital, say in a budgeting app or an Excel spreadsheet, or if you’re going old school with paper and pen. There’s no right answer to this. Some people prefer the pretty graphs and automated math features found in an app. Others find it grounding to sit down with a piece of paper and a calculator.

Gather documentation – To make an effective budget, you must know how much you make and how much you spend. So take the time to gather up all your bills including utilities, rent or mortgage, car payments, insurances, daycare bills, tuition payments, and anything else you pay. Do you have things that you pay less than monthly? You’ll need to plan for annual property taxes or quarterly car insurance too.

Getting Started

Make a list – Make a list of every bill you will pay this month, estimate the cost and add it all up. Now add up your income and take a long, hard look at how much money is left after you pay your bills.

Non-bills –  What else do you buy each month? You will need groceries and gas for the car. Do you have a gym membership? What about clothes, movies, eating out and other fun purchases?  Don’t forget about birthdays, vacations and holiday gifts. Make a list of everything you spend money on. Are there big purchases that you need to save for every month? Do you even know how much you spend on these things? Look back through your credit card and bank statements to get an honest feel for how much you’re really spending on these extras

Pay yourself –Saving money is important so don’t forget to save for retirement and emergencies. Most Americans are woefully unprepared for even a $500 emergency but tucking away a little each pay will help you be ready.

Add it up – Take a moment to add up all these bills, discretionary spending and saving. How does it look? Is your spending outpacing your income? Are you incurring credit card debt for clothes, dining out and vacations? This can be a sobering moment in the budgeting process and will determine your next steps.

The reckoning – How do you feel about what you’ve learned so far? Did you realize you were spending so much on food? Do you see room for cutting expenses? Are you pleased with where you are? For most first time budgeters, there is something shocking about this complete snapshot of their spending habits. Once you reach this point in the process, it may be time to go back and start making some edits.

Working the puzzle – Most Americans are living at or above their means. If this is the case for you, building an effective budget will be like working a puzzle. You may need to look at cutting some costs to make that puzzle fit together more easily.

Looking ahead – If you have large quarterly or annual expenses to plan for, it’s smart to look ahead and consider the best ways to do that. Often, the easiest thing is to budget a little every month and then use automatic transfers from your checking to savings so that you’re not bearing the burden all at once.

Every month – You will need a budget for every month. Eventually, you may find that it’s easy to simply copy last month’s budget with some small changes while other months require more work. It’s often most effective to budget an entire quarter at once so that you get a broader view of your needs.

The Hard Part

The hardest part to any budget is sticking to it. It’s easy to get carried away on vacation or to forget all about it when the kids need shoes. That’s why it’s important to check in with your budget before making purchases and to make needed adjustments. Remember, your budget isn’t carved in stone. It’s a living, breathing document that is most effective when it’s kept updated and when it’s used.

Are you ready to get started with a budget that will put your money to work for you? There’s no better time to start than today!

We also offer tips for sticking to a budget and ideas for saving money when you need to trim some costs.

What Do Our Lenders Wish Customers Knew About Home Loans?

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Building or buying a home can be stressful. There are countless decisions to be made and processes to follow that customers typically don’t experience often. That’s why it’s important to have an experienced banker who can show you the way. We asked some of our experienced lenders what they want customers to know prior to financing a home.

Mortgage Loan Officer Brooke Adams works at our Ross County Banking Center in Chillicothe where she provides borrowers with a checklist of items she will need to start their loan application.

She pointed out that there are many moving parts and pieces of any mortgage or construction loan process at the bank as well as through other individuals including appraisers, surveyors and the title company. Working within their individual timelines can create some challenges. “Each person involved in the many steps of the process have the same goal  –  to help the person close on their loan. However, in this big mortgage boom, we all have to be patient with turn-around times.”

Chad Meadows, a Mortgage Loan Officer at our Friendly Banking Center in Lancaster spoke specifically about the effort involved in building a home. “It’s always a pleasure to help customers realize their dream of building a home which will probably be their largest investment within their lifetime,” he said.

He suggests that customers speak with a lender prior to meeting with a builder to insure they are setting realistic financial expectations. “Realizing this dream and making it a reality requires coanstant communications between the homeowner, builder and lender. The continuity of this team is paramount for a successful project. It is most helpful to speak with a lender prior to meeting with the builder to accomplish realistic financial goals from the start.”

He elaborated on why this is important. “Items such as property taxes, insurance and monthly mortgage payments are a necessity to set realistic expectations for their dream home. This also helps the builder to save time and resources to effectively initiate the project on the right path. Accomplishing these few objectives in the beginning along with the team communicating consistently will make for a smooth and effortless construction project.”

Salt Creek Banking Center Senior Retail Lender Doug DeLong said that there is never a perfect time to take the leap but that there are practical reasons that make this the right time. “I would tell customers that now’s the time to do it! Rates have literally never been lower. With the costs of construction materials pretty high right now, the customer can more than make up for it with the extremely low interest rates.”

Still not sure if you’re ready to take the first step toward buying or building your next home?  Our lenders will be happy to answer your questions. “It is pure joy at the end of the day to watch a borrower achieve the dream of owning a home or buy that next home to grow their family.” Adams said.

Contact our Customer Service team at 1.800.542.5004 or contact a lender close to you!