This post is sponsored by Chime.
Budgeting is so important for managing your finances including tracking your financial goals and spending. Starting and keeping a budget has allowed my husband and I to tackle some big financial goals like paying off $87,000 of debt, saving for an emergency fund and so much more while we also enjoyed our lives.
A budget is simply a plan for your money that you set out every month. It’s not restrictive! But a big part of budgeting that many forget is updating your budget throughout the month. And this is not just once at the end of the month, but rather a few times throughout the month to check in on how your budget is actually going.
Why Should You Update Your Budget During The Month?
Updating your budget during the month allows you to see how the month is going. You can then make any adjustments to your budget. When you set your budget at the beginning of the month, your budget isn’t set in stone. But instead you should make updates when new information comes available. That way you can keep up with your plan for the rest of the month. I’ve been budgeting for several years and I don’t think I’ve ever had a month go EXACTLY how I budgeted for it in the beginning. Things always come up! So it’s best to update your budget to reflect that so you can continue on with your budget for the month, rather than throwing in the towel.
During a mid-month check in, you may notice that you need to make some lifestyle changes if needed. For example, it’s 1 week into the month and you notice that you’ve spent half your grocery budget! You can either increase your grocery budget for the rest of the month or you can eat through food in your pantry to lower your spending.
You don’t know how your budget is going if you’re not tracking it! Setting a budget is really important. But if you don’t check in with it, then there was no point in setting it! This is why frequent budget check-ins are so important.
How To Update Your Budget During The Month
When it’s time for your budget check-in, take out your budget! You can budget with pencil and paper, excel or an app. Don’t worry about which one to use! Pick whichever one works best for you.
If you’re interested in using a budget spreadsheet, I have a budget template for sale in my shop! You can check it out here.
I like to do a budget check-in once a week and make a habit out of it! We update our budget every Sunday. We make this easily part of our normal routine so that we don’t forget to do it once a week. It’s best to check in with your budget once a week rather than once a month so that you can make updates if you need.
Record Income
The first thing you want to do when you sit down to do your budget update is record any income you’ve received during this time. This can be your normal paycheck or any other income.
And if you use a Chime Checking Account, you could get your paycheck up to 2 days early^ with direct deposit! Chime is an award-winning financial app that millions of Americans use to manage and save their money. Set up direct deposit and get your paycheck up to 2 days earlier than some of your co-workers!^ This means you could be budgeting sooner!
They also have other awesome benefits like no annual fees, membership fees, monthly fees,or minimum balance fees. Chime makes its money from Visa through interchange fees, which is a huge benefit to their members!
They also have over 60,000+ fee-free in-network ATMs1 for you to use at a location near you!
I love that Chime was founded on the premise that basic banking services should be helpful, easy and free. That’s how it should be!
Learn more about Chime and apply for a Chime Checking Account here
Record Expenses
After you’ve recorded income, it’s time to record expenses! To do this, check all your banking and card accounts for these transactions. I like to pull up each financial services platform in a tab on my computer. Then you can record all transactions into your budget. Be sure to record these transactions with their appropriate categories of where they came from.
Once your transactions are entered, update your “actual” spending to see how your spending is going for the month depending on how you budgeted.
Adjust Your Budget If Necessary
Once all your transactions are entered and you have your actuals updated in comparison to your budget, you can make budget adjustments, if necessary.
If you’ve been spending more in a category than budgeted, either cut back, or increase this line item. For example, you’re one week into the month and see that you’ve spent 50% of your eating out budget. You can choose to eat off the dollar menu, eat at home more, or increase your eating out category. But make sure that if you increase the budget in one category, you’ll need to decrease another to keep a zero-based budget.
If you’ve been spending less, feel the permission to spend, or change the line item budget. Always a fun problem to have! If this is the case during your budget check-in, then feel free to adjust your spending and have that permission to spend more!
You can also change anything else now that you have more information. If halfway through the month you remember that you have to buy a baby shower gift, then now’s the time to add that into the budget.
Updating your budget during the month is an essential part of budgeting, yet so many forget to do this crucial step. Checking in with your budget will allow you to keep an updated budget so you can continue to make progress on your spending, saving and other financial goals.
Don’t forget to check out Chime and apply for a Chime Checking Account here!
Chime is a technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC. The Chime Visa® Debit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Please see back of your Card for its issuing bank.
^Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the submission of the payment file from the payer. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date.
1Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at Moneypass ATM in a 7-Eleven location, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM.