Ever checked your bank account to discover you have 76p to last you the two weeks remaining until payday? Chances are that if you are living to a tight budget this will have happened at some point. Planning out a monthly income and expenditure budget will help, but it’s useless if you can’t make it work in practice. Here are a few tips on how to stick to a budget:

Spending Diary – One problem with trying to stick to a budget can losing track of where the money goes. To get an idea of what you spend your money on, it can help to keep a diary of every penny you spend. It may take a bit of work but after a few weeks you’ll have a better idea of where the money does go.

Savings Account – A good budget will include money for Christmas and birthday presents, car repairs and replacing clothes. These costs occur from time to time. So tuck away this money into a savings account in the months it is not needed, and you will have a bit of money ready for when one-off expenses come around. For example, you may not spend £20 every month on car repairs, but if you save £20 every month you should have enough when the MOT comes round.

Shop Around – Always make sure you are getting value for your money by shopping around. Making sure you are getting the best deals can save you large amounts of money. Price comparison websites will help to check the prices to find the cheapest deals.

Set Targets – When planning a budget there are some bills that are fixed at the same amount each month and are easy to plan out, but things like food and entertainment are tougher to keep track of. Set yourself a target of how much you can afford to spend and try to stick to it.

Be Green – Being environmentally friendly will usually be cost effective too. Walking instead of driving short journeys will save money on petrol as well as cutting down on carbon emissions. Making sure you use all the food you buy is also good for the environment and will make your money last longer.

Cut Back – OK, so this one is pretty obvious, but cutting back on things you don’t need will really help. Just cutting out one night a month going out and staying in with your friends instead leaves extra money to spend on other things.

These are just a few tips to help you stick to that budget but if you can think of anymore that work for you, why not share them on this page or let us know on our forum here.