Personalized Budgeting Strategies for Every Financial Situation

If you want to get your spending under control, it can help to have structure by following a plan. There are plenty of different budgeting plans out there, allowing you to choose what works best for you and your situation instead of following a one-size-fits-all approach.

To find out which plan may work best for you, it will likely take some experimentation. The more comfortable you feel with your plan, the more likely you are to follow it from month to month. Here are some of the best budgeting strategies for different situations.

Best Budgeting Strategies for Every Situation

Budgeting is about a lot more than finding out your income, expenses and how much you can put into savings or set aside for specific goals or desires. And your budget doesn’t have to be overly restrictive and prevent you from having breathing room for a night out with friends, takeout or a coffee at your favorite shop. Let’s take a look at some of the best budgeting strategies to help you get started:

Reverse Budgeting

With this budgeting strategy, you’ll allocate money to dedicated accounts for your goals, such as a down payment for a house, college tuition funds or retirement accounts. After this, you’ll pay for your essentials like groceries, utilities, rent or mortgage and credit card or student loan debt. Once you’ve directed money into dedicated savings accounts and your essential expenses, you’ll put any leftover money into a separate checking account. This is your account that you’ll use for things you want or want to do, such as dinners out, new clothing or vacations.

Pay Yourself First

With this strategy, you’ll determine a percentage of your take-home income to save each month (20 percent is a good baseline). You’ll devote a portion of your paycheck into your savings account, then take care of essential expenses like groceries, utilities and your rent or mortgage. You can either track these expenses through an app or spreadsheet or set them to autopay when your paycheck is deposited into your account. After directing a portion of your paycheck into your savings and taking care of all of your essential expenses, the rest is yours to spend on whatever you like—whether it’s paying off debts, going on a trip or picking up the latest bestseller or that sweater you’ve been eyeing.

This type of budgeting strategy is best for those who want to put more money in savings but don’t have patience or time for more hands-on budgeting methods. It can also feel like you have more financial freedom because you can spend your money however you like once you’ve taken care of the essentials.

Give Yourself a Margin

It can feel tedious and time-consuming to track every dime you’re spending. To work around this, it can help to set aside a specific amount of money each month to be your margin of error. This helps create breathing room in your budget while still helping you meet your financial goals. However, you still need to ensure you’re staying financially responsible by keeping track of how much you’re spending so you don’t go over your margin of error.

To create a margin, you first need to determine how much of your income you aren’t required to spend each month. This is your margin. It enables you to absorb unexpected expenses each month without resorting to using a credit card or your emergency fund. Ideally, your margin of error should be 5-10 percent of your take-home income. However, make sure lifestyle creep doesn’t eat away your margin of error.

Start a Budget that Works

There are plenty of nuances to budgeting. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, and circumstances often require flexibility to adapt your budget to ensure your well-being. Budgeting can also be tricky, because what works for one person may not work for you, and it’s important to not scold yourself for that. Find out what you need to know to start a budget that works for you with our free resource, “Budgeting for Beginners: A Quick Guide for Budgeting in Your Twenties”.