money saving challenge | a new challenge for 2018.

Money. Savings. Budget. Seriously… what an awful topic. At least for someone who absolutely hates numbers and can never wrap her head around finances. Talking about yours truly. I mean, I obviously know the basics – income vs expenses – the easy stuff you need to get by on a daily basis. But when it comes to actually sitting down to create a budget, determine goals and deciding where money should go, I’m terrible. I think it’s mostly a patience issue. Which definitely shouldn’t be an excuse. To help, Earnest created a 2018 Money Saving Challenge – a refreshing “snapshot” I could finally get my head around.

I set aside four attainable budget goals for 2018. Set a grocery budget, cut out unnecessary services, save for travel and set a monthly “free spend” amount. And with Earnest’s simple way of spreading it across quarters, all of it seems more manageable. Am I the only one who gets shocked by a total at the grocery store? Or worse… Target? I mean, the cost of life can seem so outrageous and overwhelming, it’s hard to imagine having any extra for the fun things.

For T and I, the fun things include…

…travel (see below), trying new restaurants and shopping. Ok, shopping is all me. Now that it’s more organized for me to look at, I can visibly see all our desired cuts and budgets will lead to saving for travel. Unnecessary costs, sticking to a grocery budget & setting maximum amounts for clothes, shoes, etc, all lead to more money for travel. And savings – a win-win. With this helpful, organized challenge, I at least have a starting point. Getting a little late start for 2018, but better late than never for improving a budget. Right?

Do you have trouble setting or sticking to a budget? I’d love to hear how you manage in the comments below!