In the 13 Ways To Save Money In The New Year post, point #13 was to find someone to be an accountability partner for spending and budget-making ideas.

Before you can look for an accountability partner, you need to do something first. You need to make a budget. Making a budget can be really hard. But it doesn’t have to be hard. Creating a budget takes time, forgiveness, and determination. Your goal is to get your finances on the right track. 

Most of us struggle with budgets. However, with determination, we can create a budget, adjust it as needed, and stick to it. You need to give your money a place to go and keep a tighter eye on where it goes.

Making a budget is not an overnight project. You need to review the last 2-3 months and identify your expenses (bills, groceries, gas, etc.). How much, where, and how often money is spent are all things that need to be noted. How much money you make and how often it is paid to you need to be noted. From these things, make a budget.

You can use a computer program or go low-tech with a notebook or planner. Just so your budget is not in your head, but on paper or saved in a file. Seeing it on paper makes your budget real to you. Keeping it in your head means your budget is abstract and easily adjusted to whatever whims suddenly arise.

Now, will this budget work exactly for the next week and every month? Yes and no.

If you have expenses that are the same every month, never vary, and no surprises occur, you will be golden. If you are like me, you will have expenses that change all the time, your kids will surprise you with new needs (thank you to schools), and can change mid-month. You will pull your hair in frustration or want to take your budget target shooting.

However, sit back and breathe deeply. Write every month down. Write down what expenses are the same every month. Estimate what you need until you know the definite amount. You will have to adjust your budget for new things. You might find places you don’t spend as much as you thought. You might have places you spend way more than you should. The next few months will be an adjustment period.

Make sure every dollar is accounted for in the budget. Dave Ramsey suggests this and he is right. Even if the dollar is in savings, it is accounted for. If you have a budget surplus, put it in savings so you have it for unexpected expenses down the road. Create categories for clothing, repairs, gifts, etc., and allocate money to each.

Pretty soon, you will have a working budget. I promise.

If you feel like your budget is failing, there are some things you can change to help. For some people, it is easier to budget on a per-pay-period basis. You create a list of all the bills and expenses in the month, but you allot your money by paycheck. For example, you get paid twice a month. You find it hard to hold money from one paycheck to another to cover all the necessary expenses. Instead of doing that, you know that the first paycheck will cover the bills due from the 1st to the 15th. The second paycheck covers the bills from the 16th to the 30th. You divide your grocery budget between the two checks. 

You can use budgeting apps like EveryDollar, Monarch, or Rocket Money (not sponsored) to help you see exactly where your money is going. Many people find it helpful to review their budget daily and log their expenses. Budgeting apps also have an advantage: many of them show you redundancies in your budget. 

Because having a budget requires something else from you: self-discipline and self-control, you may need an accountability partner.  I can feel some of you cringing already. That is okay. This is someone who can help you. 

What is a budget accountability partner? Someone you can trust to bounce ideas off of, cry on their shoulder when the budget is not responding to your needs/wants, and someone who will help you take a cold, hard look at it.

Make sure your budget accountability partner is someone you trust. A spouse, significant other, parent, family, or really good friend is a good candidate. If you are married and both of you have trouble with the budget, finding a parent, sibling, or really good friend would be good. Some people do find it beneficial to find a professional to help them be accountable and that is fine too. Whatever it takes for you to make your budget work!

We are coming into times when our money will have to go farther and farther. Now is the time to take charge of your money, make it go farther, and make it work for you!

Thanks for reading,
Erica

Updated 7/16/2026