5 Smart Budgeting Tips for Smart Spenders

“The simplest definition of a budget is telling your money where to go. --Tsh Oxenreide

Budgeting simply means giving direction to your money as opposed to spontaneous spending. Yet it’s not surprising that many people view it as a straitjacket which places undue and unrealistic control on their finances. Truthfully, there’s such a thing called an unrealistic budget, which occurs when you make impractical goals without considering your needs, wants and other financial indices from a holistic approach. At the end of this is a more wasteful spending habit which is probably higher than not having a budget in the first place.

Hence it’s not enough to just budget, more importantly, you must budget smartly. These tips will help you give smart direction to your money and save even more;

Calculate your Monthly Income

Your monthly income in this context refers to your earnings for the month minus taxes. Before you start budgeting, you should know how much you have to spend. This includes your passive income, income from your side hustles, and other benefits.

Review and list your monthly expenses

A number of factors influence your monthly expenses, hence you must constantly review what takes your money every month. Start with your needs and include special treats you often indulge in. Accommodate emergency expenses on this list Ensure your list is comprehensive and realistic.

Scout for Good Deals

Having created a comprehensive expenses list, yet the next step is to look out for where you get all you want at a fair price. Different retailers and business owners run promo offers, discounts and price slash on their products at different times around the year. You need to look out for them. With ThankUCash, you can keep an update on the newest ‘mad deals’, and discounts by ThankUCash merchants. Every juicy offer is delivered to your inbox as soon as it starts. Register here to stay updated.

Have a Cashback Plan

A host of businesses also give their customers rewards to improve customer relationships. For ThankUCash merchants, rewards are cashback, which is a percentage of the total amount spent on a product. With this, you can get up to 20 per cent cashback when you shop at these stores. Track your cashback inflow on your monthly expense list, and allocate your accumulated cashback for other needs.

Stay Committed to your Budget

Smart budgeting, in itself, is not an end. The reason for budgeting is primarily to encourage smart spending and deter wasteful spending, hence, it’s important that you’re committed to your smart budget to achieve this goal. For easy tracking, draw up your budget on your mobile app, and track what’s off your list and what’s left. Want more cashback? Visit www.thankucash.com to see more businesses that reward customers with cashback. Don’t just have a smart budget, spend smart!