How often do you stick to your budget? Blogger Jo Middleton has some tried-and-tested methods.

Buy Less Stuff

Kind of obvious, right? However, sometimes we need reminding of the basics. Think about reusing and recycling things, or ask yourself whether you really need it in the first place. You probably don’t.

Make Saving Top of Your List

It’s a rookie error to save what’s leftover at the end of the month because nothing ever is! If you want to make it work, you need to transfer savings out of your main bank account as soon as you get paid. Spend what’s left over after saving, not the other way around.

Set Up an Online Saver

The easier you can make it for yourself to save, the more likely you are to stick at it.

Pause for Thought

We live in an instant society - we see something and we want it. Wait a bit, though, even just a couple of days (or hours) and you’ll often find something quickly loses appeal. Next time you see a dress you’re desperate for, leave it a few days and see if you still even remember it.

Plan Your Meals

An oldie but a goodie. Planning meals in advance definitely cuts your shopping bill.

Just Say No

Buying ‘stuff’ for kids because they’re pestering you is easy but expensive. Practise saying ‘no’ more often and you may even find they start asking less too.

Set Savings Goals

‘I must save R10 000’ is far more inspiring if you add ‘so I can enjoy a week on the beach in Thailand. Having something tangible to save for will help to keep you motivated.

Choose Your Subscriptions Carefully

Only buy subscriptions though for things you already use and know you’ll get value from.

Source: Tesco Bank

According to Miriam Caldwell, people complain that budgets just do not work or that it is too hard to budget because it takes so much time or they keep making the same budgeting mistakes. She suggests the following to make sticking to a budget easier.

Use Cash for Problem Categories

If you hate tracking your budget each day, one option you may want to consider is switching to cash for the categories where you always go over. Some common areas would be groceries, entertainment costs and clothing. Take the money out of the bank at the beginning of the month and divide it into envelopes. When the money is gone, you know you need to stop spending.

Budgeting Software on Your Phone

Budgeting software makes sticking to a budget much easier. All you need to do is assign a category as you enter in the transactions. Smart phones with budgeting apps take this to a whole new level. Most programs now come with apps that will communicate with your computer program. You can enter in the transactions as you go and quickly check how much you have left in each category. This can stop you from making mistakes and is essential if you are married and both spending out of the same categories. You can really cut down on the amount of time it takes to budget by entering in transactions as you do them.

Budget Meetings

Budget meetings are a great way to get your budget working. If you are married, they are a necessity. A budget meeting simply means that you look over your spending on a regular basis so you can make changes as needed. If you are single you can do this each morning or each night, and it only takes a few minutes. If you are married, you will need to schedule this each night at first and then you can move to weekly meetings. The first few months, you may feel like they are a lot more work. However, the time is worth it.

Cut Your Utility Bills

Cutting your monthly bills will make it easier to stay on budget. If you are struggling with different categories, it is important to realise that finding extra wiggle room in your budget can make a big different. Shopping for a new cell phone plan or Internet provider can help you save, but so can adjusting the aircon.

Source: The Balance

Furthermore, Joel Falconer from Lifehack also suggests the following:

Never go grocery shopping hungry!

Keep your receipts, or write your own – at the end of each day, list your expenditures. At the end of the month, group those expenditures to create a simple overview of where you’re spending too much or even too little.

Pack your own lunch each day.

Develop a distaste for takeaway coffee.

Never watch commercials. Get a PVR.

Use every last scrap of every last thing you purchase. Don’t waste anything. Don’t leave taps running, don’t throw out the quarter of a plate of dinner you didn’t eat.

Become a power Nazi. Switch off lights and appliances at every opportunity, and tweak your computer’s power settings to give you the optimum balance between power savings and practicality.

Exercise in the great outdoors, or use your own body weight – forget expensive gym memberships and personal trainers.

Don’t fall for the vicious technology upgrade cycle. Your laptop is still fine until there’s something actually wrong with it; performance is all in the software you run.

If you come under your budget, save the excess. There is no legal obligation to spend it!

Don’t keep credit cards in your wallet, or near any of your computers with an Internet connection.

Water is cheap (for the time being) and can easily replace most other beverages, such as soda – just not coffee.

See more tips at lifehack.org.