Solution: Problem created while creating budget

If you’re new to putting together a budget (or even if you’re not!), there can be a lot of little issues that really add to the challenge. Below, I’ll list a lot of the issues. I’m aware of and endeavor to provide solutions to help you get past the niggling concerns and instead focus on managing your money effectively in order to repay your debt as quickly as possible.

One of the problems I faced when I first started budgeting was that, I was overly specific to the point of redundancy. Instead of just having simple categories like electricity, water, cable, food, entertainment, transportation, clothing, etc. I had little micro-categories, things like what type of entertainment and what types of clothing. It all got extremely complex very quickly and was certainly a deterrent to ever really using it.

The solution is really just to keep it simple when you make your budget. Wide, general categories that divide your funds up broadly will do a much better job of keeping you focused. You can decide where to spend within that category without noting down the detail of every planned expenditure up to the brand of t-shirts you’ve decided to buy. It has to be detailed enough that you are dividing your funds in a way that makes sense but not so detailed that you get immediately frustrated. Figure out what works for you and don’t force complexity where none is needed.
Another problem that seems common, from what I’ve read online, is that I didn’t put aside money to cover unexpected expenses. Instead of dipping into your emergency fund every time something little comes up, you can instead budget a small miscellaneous amount monthly to cover the random little expenses that are simply a result of living life. Emergency funds are for true emergencies and your ‘miscellaneous expenses’ category (or whatever you choose to call it) is just for little expenses that pop up unexpectedly. Adding this category should help you maintain your emergency fund as well as never feel like you have to compromise one part of your budget to meet a minor but necessary expense.

Forgetting about the budget can also be a problem or maybe not forgetting as such. But maybe thinking ‘well it’s all the way on the computer upstairs and I’ll just wing it and check the budget/remember what I spent later on’. I used to do this a lot and it never, ever worked. I’d miss-record because I didn’t save receipts and was inputting estimates of my expenditures a week later or I’d try to remember what I had left to spend in a certain category and get that wrong. Our memories are not perfect, particularly when we don’t particularly want to remember that we can’t have everything we want. Print out your budget and keep a couple copies around your house. I stuck mine on the fridge and I also input a bare-bones copy into my phone so I could check it on the go. You can even get apps for your phone that help you track spending.
Finally, my main problem was that, if I went over budget one month. Even just in one category, I’d tell myself the whole thing was shot and wouldn’t work to fix things. Plans don’t always work out and you might have to go over one month just to keep up with life. This is okay, so long as you don’t give up on the whole thing. Instead of doing what I did (this happened at the beginning. I did quickly realize my problem and resolve it!), focus on regrouping. If you’ve just gone over in one area, you don’t need to throw in the towel. Just compromise from another, less necessary area (for instance, entertainment). If possible, don’t pull funds from what you were aiming to put into debt repayment. It’s better to take a hit in the entertainment section of your life than accrue a bunch of extra interest on your debt. Similarly, if you’ve had a bad month in general and the whole budget is kind of shot, don’t give up. Pull yourself together, dust yourself off and start again; this time analyzing what went wrong and working to avoid it.

Your budget isn’t a static thing. It will need to grow and evolve as you get more comfortable with the process. If you can avoid these issues (and similar issues), that should steer you away from making excuses not to have a budget at all and help you to focus on achieving your goals.
If you are currently struggling with unmanageable credit card debt, you may need to look into a more serious debt relief option, such as debt negotiation. Debt negotiation involves cutting your expenses as much as possible (which will still involve budgeting!) and, instead of throwing what can feel like a futile minimum payment at your creditors, putting this money into a set-aside fund for a period of time.
Experienced, licensed debt negotiators can use this lump sum to negotiate your debt with your creditors, often resulting in a 50% or more cut in what you owe. This reduced payment is considered ‘payment in full’ and, from that point, you will be free and clear of your debts. Once this is done, you can rebuild your credit and manage your spending, using the above methods to help work with your budget to prevent the same thing happening again.