I tried many different budgets and got tired of all the ways.
Then, my friend told me to ignore the advice of a monthly budget and go with a weekly one instead.
Creating a weekly money budget has helped me spend less, as well as save hundreds of dollars a year effortlessly.
While some people experiment with many different budgeting methods – guilt-free budgeting, zero-total budgeting, 50/30/20 budgeting, just to name a few – I’ve pretty much given up on maintaining a strict budget and constantly focusing on my spending, which is too tedious, time-consuming, and ultimately, what really matters is the savings goal.
That is, until my friend Ari, a financial coach, suggested that one should budget weekly instead of monthly. Ari, a self-proclaimed reformist boy who used to spend small amounts on the weekends, found that resetting your budget weekly not only helps you track your spending, but also helps you save money.
A few years ago, I decided to make adjustments to my weekly budget. A weekly budget helps me to be more realistic about my spending and gives me more leeway to turn around each month. In those days, I combined the guilt-free budgeting method with the “pay up front” budgeting method, spending the rest and budgeting for discretionary spending each week.
I separated my working capital
To keep my savings and working capital separate, I transfer a certain amount of money each week to a Qapital account that I use only for expenses.
Qapital has a “weekly sweet spot” feature where you can determine how much you can spend each week and monitor your expenses each week. First, I figured out the fixed costs, such as rent, utilities, subscription services and insurance, as well as the monthly savings for emergencies, vacations and retirement. The rest is what I have to spend each month. Finally, I divide that number by 4.3 (how many weeks in a month), and that’s my weekly spending budget.
Keeping the money in a separate checking account reduces the temptation to dip into my savings before I really need it. Plus, it makes it easier to keep track of the resources left over each week.
I stashed money to cover credit card payments
During the epidemic, I started shopping online and using credit cards to pay for my purchases. To help pay my monthly credit card payments, each time I made a purchase with my credit card, I transferred money from my Qapital account to my main checking account, from which my credit card purchases would be fully settled.
Let’s say I spend $30 on pet food online. I will transfer $30 from my weekly expense account to my primary checking account. This helps me avoid feeling ignorant when I receive my credit card statement and makes it easier to pay my credit card balance in full each month. Also, in most cases, I will use the funds already set aside for free purchases.
I save what’s already left over
If I have money left over from that week, I save it. Ally recommends spending the money so you can enjoy it and not feel deprived. I often feel like I have enough flexibility to make random purchases a few times a month and would rather use the money for a savings goal, whether it’s a splurge fund, a vacation fund or to add to my emergency savings. While there is variation in the money I save each week, it helps me save at least a few hundred dollars a year.
It helps prevent going into panic mode about money
Having a weekly budget, coupled with a “pay for it yourself first” approach to saving, helps eliminate the worry that I might run out of money at the end of the month. It can be difficult to budget for the entire month, especially since bills are due at different times of the month, which means that the amount needed may vary from month to month. Plus, it helps me save any “leftover” money from my weekly funds.
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