Attack of the Zombie Budget: How to Keep Your Financial Plan Alive and Thriving

Is there a scarier word than “budget”? For as helpful as this financial habit is, it gets about as much love as tax season and root canals. Unfortunately, this means that creating a budget often receives the ‘grit-your-teeth-and-get-it-over-with’ treatment, and then it’s forgotten about completely. Sure, you have a budget set up, but there’s a good chance your money is wandering aimlessly in and out of your accounts instead of helping you reach your goals. 

The good news is that bringing it back to life isn’t difficult, and it can even give you a new sense of financial empowerment. Here are a few budgeting tips we believe are beneficial to bring your financial plan back to the land of the living.

Step 1: Check for A Pulse 

Budgets should be living, breathing tools that adapt and change right along with you. Surprise expenses such as car trouble, vet visits, and home repairs can pop up. Inflation may mean your allotted grocery budget or property taxes have increased. Good expenses, like qualifying for catch-up contributions, also warrant a budget makeover, along with financial changes like a bonus or raise. 

If it’s been a while since you audited your spending and saving habits, it’s time to look for signs of life. Go through your income, along with banking and credit card statements from the past few months, to get an idea of how much is coming in, what you’re spending, and where it’s going. Don’t forget to account for once-yearly bills or spending spikes, like membership renewals, vehicle registrations, holiday spending, etc. Breaking these expenses into monthly installments can help even out year-round spending. Remember, one of the keys to successful budgeting is honesty; if your budget is unrealistic, it will feel too restrictive to stick to. 

Step 2: Avoid an Autopilot Apocalypse

While Autopay can be a convenient feature, it also makes it easy to overlook increasing bills. Furthermore, it can lead to careless spending. When you aren’t physically paying a bill, it’s easy to forget it exists (at least until you look at your bank account balance). This is why one of our top habits for building wealth is to Pay Attention instead of leaving your finances on autopilot. 

As you audit your budget, note any bills set to autopay. Are there any subscriptions that you no longer use, or that have gotten more expensive? Get rid of what you don’t use. If your credit card payment is set to autopay, consider turning it off. Many people don’t realize their credit card autopayment is set to the minimum payment, which can result in owing interest on the remaining balance. If you’re worried about forgetting bills, try setting a recurring reminder on your smartphone calendar or choosing one day a month to pay these bills manually. 

Step 3: More Brains, Less Brainnnssss 

You may be good at saving, but do you know what you’re saving for or how to allocate your savings? If you want to take your budget from ghoulish to goal-focused, it’s time to infuse it with some heart and a Smart About Money™ approach. Take a step back and think about what you want your money to help you achieve. Paying off the house? Early retirement? Moving to a desirable city or part of town? Helping the kids through college? Whatever your goals are, make them SMART–Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound–so you can break them down into budgetable bites and track your progress. 

For many people, figuring out what they want to save for is the easy part. The real challenge is prioritizing which goals to focus on first and figuring out how to balance them. This is where our Four Buckets strategy comes in. By building an emergency fund, then a personal escrow fund, followed by a retirement fund and a bridge fund, you can save for big-picture goals without neglecting the essentials. If you’re still not sure how to make your money work smarter, not harder, talk to your financial advisor. 

The Antidote 

Bringing your budget back from zombieland doesn’t mean you have to obsess over every dollar in and out. It’s about breathing life into your finances so they can support the life you live right now and help you Retire to Your Happy Place™. It’s also about helping you make smart choices that give you a sense of confidence. You deserve it! We’re here to walk you through each step of building, reviewing, and adjusting your financial strategy–one bite at a time.