Practical, Time-Efficient Budgeting Strategies for the Busy Individual

Recorded live at Podcast Movement 2023 in Denver!

Are you constantly racing against time, feeling like budgeting is a luxury you can't afford? You needn't compromise your financial health due to time constraints, and I'm here to show you how. Welcome to this episode of Savvy Budget Girl, where we discuss practical, time-efficient budgeting strategies that can work for even the busiest individuals.

We delve into the benefits of a zero-based budget and the pitfalls of leaving money unallocated. Whether you're a techie who loves using budgeting apps like Mint and YNAB, or you prefer the old-school pen-and-paper method, we've got tips for you. We also discuss the merits of automatic savings, the 50-30-20 rule for budgeting, and techniques like cash envelopes for discretionary spending. And if you're a foodie, we've got some smart advice on meal planning and grocery shopping that can help you avoid splurges and save more. Tune in to take control of your finances today!

Complete show notes at http://savvybudgetgirl.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Short on time but know you need to know how to
budget.
Join me for this quick episodeof Savvy Budget Girl to get you
started, whether or not youshort on time.
Hey, fam, welcome to the SavvyBudget Girl podcast, the show
where I teach you how to keepyour lattes.
Welcome to the show.
So today we're talking aboutQuick tips for budgeting when

(00:20):
you're short on time, and ifyou've never heard any of my
episodes before, never seen anyof my videos, you know that we
budget here on this channel.
In fact, we use a zero basedbudgeting system and that simply
means that your income minusexpenses equals zero.
We do that so that every dollarhas a job and that there's.

(00:40):
We found that when money's leftover, at the end it just kind
of disappears.
So when you give every dollaror job, such as in a zero based
budget, you will find thatyou're more intentional about
your spending, you're moreintentional about your savings
and you're able to complete yourfinancial goals.
So I'm gonna give you some tipsquick tips on how to actually

(01:03):
Budget when you're short on time.
So let's get into it.
Tip number one is to usebudgeting apps.
You can use apps to save timeand automate your budgeting
process.
But if your old school like meand you prefer pen and paper,
that's fine too, because I havethose supplies in my Etsy shop
so you can go toSavvyBudgetMerchcom.
But the trick here is to saveyour receipts If you're using

(01:27):
pen and paper, and save yourreceipts so that you can track
them in bulk Rather than withevery transaction, like you
would if you were using an app.
So back in the day like I'm 43years old at the time of this
recording but back in the day weused to have checkbook
registers.
So when you pulled money out ofthe ATM or you wrote a check or
you used your debit card, youhad a little register, a little

(01:49):
book that you recorded all yourtransactions in.
But now that hardly anyonewrites checks anymore, no one
really keeps track of theirexpenses anymore.
So this is basically going backto that old school way of
tracking your expenses as you go, rather than trying to
reconcile it when you get yourbank statement at the end of the
month.
That's not the time to do this.

(02:12):
So you can do for popularbudgeting apps.
You can use things like Mint,ynab, which is you need a budget
.
That's not free.
Mint is free, but YNAB is apaid app, but you can get the
first 34 days for free At thetime of this recording.
And then there's an app calledevery dollar which is the
DayfreeMZ app.

(02:33):
There is a free version andthen there's a paid version.
So you may just be fine withthe free version and if you
decide to upgrade, same withYNAB, you can pay at the end if
you want.
These apps can help track yourexpenses and get you towards
your budgeting goals by showingyou actually how much you're
spending, what you're spendingit on and where your savings are

(02:55):
in relation to your goals.
So use these apps as a tool,but also to help you be more
intentional about your spendingand your savings.
Tip number two is to set upautomatic savings.
You can set up automatictransfers to your savings
accounts.
You should have more than onesavings account and this can

(03:17):
help you save money without eventhinking about it.
So I know that without theautomatic tie, the automatic
savings set up, I tend to forget.
Just go about my day using thebudget, making sure bills get
paid, but when I have theautomatic giving turned on or
the automatic savings turned on,then the next thing I know I've
got tons of money in my savingsaccount that I didn't have to

(03:42):
think about, and when you'reshort on time, you don't want to
have to think about it.
Make sure, though, that whenyou set up your transfers, they
coincide with your paydays, ormaybe a day or two after your
payday, so that the money isalways there in your account.
So, hey, if you're gettingvalue out of this episode and

(04:03):
you're watching it on YouTube,hit that subscribe button, and
if you're ready to finally takecontrol of your money and build
wealth head over, tokeepyourlatescom.
That's keepyourlatescom.
And now on to tip number three.
Tip number three is to implementthe 50-30-20 rule.
So that is a rule for budgeting, and what it means is 50% of

(04:28):
your income should go tonecessities, 30% to once and 20%
to savings and debt repayment.
But it's very simple.
If you don't have time to gothrough and track all your
expenses and to put all thecategories down and maybe you
forgot some categories this isan easy I want to say no-brainer
way to get the budgeting done,because you're just allocating

(04:52):
by percentage.
You don't have to go so deepinto the categories.
So this is a lot more simplethan the zero-based budgeting,
even though I usually recommendzero-based budgeting for
beginners, because it reallygets into the weeds of your
money.
But if you're short on time,the 50-30-20 rule or method will

(05:14):
work for you.
But the point is get started.
Don't let indecision betweenwhich budget method is the best
or the perfect one to keep youfrom starting your budget.
Just do the darn thing.
Tip number four is to use cashenvelopes for discretionary
spending.
So the reason we do this isbecause, as I've said before,

(05:37):
this is a hard visual on notonly how much money you have,
but how much money you have left.
When the envelope is empty, youstop spending, unless you're
willing to pull from anotherenvelope.
But that might mess up yourbudgeting categories.
So we try not to pull fromanother envelope unless it's
urgent or an emergency or likeyou're starving you need food.

(05:58):
This method helps you controlyour spending and stay within
your budget, and you can useregular envelopes that you get
from the store, like regularplain white envelopes.
You don't have to get all fancylike I do with my cash envelope
budgeting wallet in the ones Ireview on the channel.
You don't have to use any ofthose things to get started, but
if you do, it may make you moreinclined to keep going.

(06:22):
So consider getting one ofthose nice wallets you don't pay
.
They're like 20 or $30 maybe onAmazon.
There are many of them, butclick the link in the
description below so you can seesome of the reviews of the ones
I've tried so that you candecide for yourself.
You can also do this withdigital budgeting apps.

(06:46):
So something like Q Q-U-B-Eoffers digital envelopes, and
some apps offer something likebuckets so that you can do the
digital version of the cashenvelope method.
But again, it's what works foryou.
But I encourage everybody totry the physical cash envelopes
before they move over to digital.

(07:07):
And tip number five is to mealplan and grocery shop with a
list.
This helps you avoid impulsespending at the grocery store.
Also, if your husband is likemine, you may wanna leave him
home and not bring him to thegrocery store either, because
all kinds of things end up inthe shopping cart that were not

(07:28):
on the list.
But when you take the time toactually plan out the next three
or four days of meals, then youknow.
And then you go into yourkitchen, go into your pantry.
You know what you have and whatyou don't have, so that you
know what you need from thestore.
This also gives you more timeto look at sales around you so
that you can figure out where toget the best things at the best

(07:50):
price.
This saves time, reducesimpulse purchases and it helps
you stick to your budget.
There's tons and tons of mealplanner apps out there.
I'll put some in thedescription of the show notes.
I don't use any right now, Ijust use recipes for inspiration
, but I used to use the one byForks Over Knives, which was

(08:11):
very helpful.
So if you're looking for a mealplanner app, make sure it can
also help you build a shoppinglist.
And that's it.
Let me know in the comments howyou keep track of your budget
when you're short on time.
And hey, if you enjoyed theshow, don't forget to head on
over to keepyourlattescom Ifyou're ready to finally take

(08:31):
control of your money.
Follow the show and getnotified whenever there's a new
episode.
And if you're watching onYouTube, hit the subscribe
button.
Until next time, bye, fam.