Dear Clint and Katy,
My husband and I have started our budget several times, but have never been able to stick with it. We don’t have a problem creating the plan: Our problem is following through on that plan. We get the first month’s budget made, but then we get busy and never have time to get to it after that.  I feel hopeless about it. How can we follow through with budgeting long term?

- Elaine, CA

Dear Elaine,

It’s great that you both desire to live on a budget. But unfortunately it sounds like you stop at the “want to” phase. The good news is that getting to that place is already a big step in the right direction.

Creating and living on a budget is like exercising. We all know we should do it, but it’s easy to find excuses not to: not enough time, not enough energy, it’s not fun, etc… But you’re not doing it for the fun: You’re doing it because you want to accomplish something, like losing 30 lbs. or completing a 5k.

You and your husband need to sit down together and discuss why you need to live on a budget. What are your financial goals? Are they to get debt free? Save for kids’ college? Invest for retirement? Until you know why you need to do it, it will always be just another chore that’s easy to put off.

Here are a few tips to help you re-program your minds and develop the habit of budgeting:

• Determine which day of the week works best for you to create next month’s budget. For example, Sunday evening is the day that works best for Clint and me.  We do our budget the Sunday prior to month’s end at 6 P.M. sharp. This appointment is set in stone and it never catches us by surprise.
• Part of budgeting is tracking all of your actual expenses each month; don’t wait until the end of the month to enter them all into your budget. Doing that all at once makes it a big, time-consuming project that you’re more likely to put off. Instead, enter your spending as you go, on a daily basis or weekly basis. We enter our actual expenses into our budget each Friday. This breaks the project down into smaller, more manageable chunks.
• Once you determine the days/times you plan to work on you budget, protect that time. Turn off your cell phones and the TV during your budget meeting and refuse to make plans with friends. Put it in your calendars. Set reminders in your phone. Do whatever it takes to remind yourselves of this appointment.
• Anticipate roadblocks. Consider what might interfere with your plans to do your budget and come up with a back-up plan. For instance: If your budget appointment is set for Friday at 6 P.M. but it’s your sister’s birthday that night, you can re-schedule your budget meeting for Saturday at 7pm.
• Choose a reward for yourselves to enjoy once your monthly budget is completed. It might be 30 minutes of TV or a dinner out.  Eventually, budgeting will become second nature. In the meantime, giving yourself a reward might be the incentive that you need.
• Last but not least: Don’t beat yourselves up about it. When has telling yourself that you’re a failure ever motivated you to succeed? If this was easy, we’d all be rich and I’d be out of a job. Remember, managing your money is all about direction, not perfection.

I know you can do it!

- Katy

Have a tricky question Clint and Katy can answer about your finances?
Email it to Editors@PerkStreet.com

Clint and Katy Davis are PerkStreet Customer Columnists and founders of Davis Coaching. As financial coaches, their passion is helping people become and stay debt free! Their personalized coaching is designed to help you get your financial life where you want it to be. Like personal trainers for your finances, they can help you develop a specific plan to achieve your goals, and provide the expertise and accountability to get you there. If you’re ready to take control of your financial life, visit Davis Coaching online, check out the Davis Coaching blog, and connect with Clint and Katy on Twitter and Facebook.