What To Do When You Go Over Budget

If you have ever had a budget, you have probably gone over budget at one time or another. It's hard, things often happen and the budget spirals out of control. When our dog was sick a couple of years ago we had some high vet bills. The vet bills on their own would have been okay, however we were trying to ignore the fact our dog was sick and pretty much spent like crazy for a couple of weeks. By the end of the month we realized we had completely gotten off track.

So what to do when you go over budget? First of all, realize that it is okay. Budgets don't work perfectly 100% of the time. They often need adjusted and changed. Beating yourself up over it isn't going to help things. Then, sit down and take a look at your budget to see how you can fix it.

Stop Spending

Whatever you do, don't bury your head in the sand about going over budget. I have done it plenty of times and trust me it doesn't work. Until you get back on budget stop spending money on anything that isn't a necessity. Food yes, that's a necessity. New fire pit? No, it's not. Yup, I actually bought a fire pit one time when I knew we were over budget. Crazy!

Borrow From Another Area

If you are just off track in one area, one of the easiest things to do is borrow from another. As long as the other category will be okay with less money this will work well. I do this all the time when we travel. I use grocery money for dining out. Because we aren't at home, the grocery money won't be used and can help out with the dining out expenses. Check out all of your different categories to see where you can take from to get back on budget.

Slash Your Grocery Budget

The grocery budget is a really easy place to cut back. Skip meats for a week and eat beans and rice. We once did potatoes for a week. It's not the healthiest, but for one week it probably won't kill you. 😉 I have a friend who cooks an egg with her ramen for a protein filled cheap meal.

Sell Stuff

Selling things is a great way to make money fast. Go through your house to see what you aren't using anymore. I am amazed with what I can come up with to sell. I like to sell clothes at resale shops, larger items on craigslist, and I even found a Facebook page in my area for small household items. Get rid of that bread machine you haven't used in two years and make some cash from it.

Adjust

Evaluate to see if you need to adjust your budget. Was this a one time deal that won't happen again or are you going over budget month after month? I struggled with my grocery budget until I finally learned I needed to adjust it permanently. By evaluating and adjusting you can keep yourself from going over budget month after month.

Having a budget and sticking to it is a great way to reach your goals. However, there will be times that you will go over your budget. Finding the problem and fixing it will help get you back on track faster. What do you do when you go over budget?