{"id":9026,"date":"2019-12-16T08:28:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T13:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/?p=9026"},"modified":"2022-06-01T15:50:41","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T19:50:41","slug":"living-on-a-budget-ashul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/living-on-a-budget-ashul\/","title":{"rendered":"Living on a Budget and ENJOYING It!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you have stumbled upon this article than I am guessing\nthat you are either living on a budget and NOT enjoying it or you\u2019re not living\non a budget and hoping to get there at some point, likely very soon, in your\nlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Good news is that regardless of what made you click on this link;\nI am here to help!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The single most important thing of creating a budget and sticking to it is that you need to know what the \u2018why\u2019 is.&nbsp; Why do you want to live on a budget?&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/eor7ztmv4pb.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/living-on-a-budget-1-1024x683.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9061\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eor7ztmv4pb.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/living-on-a-budget-1-1024x683.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/eor7ztmv4pb.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/living-on-a-budget-1-300x200.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/eor7ztmv4pb.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/living-on-a-budget-1-768x512.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/eor7ztmv4pb.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/living-on-a-budget-1.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/eor7ztmv4pb.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/living-on-a-budget-1.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;w=160&amp;ssl=1 160w, https:\/\/eor7ztmv4pb.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/living-on-a-budget-1.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;w=480&amp;ssl=1 480w, https:\/\/eor7ztmv4pb.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/living-on-a-budget-1.jpg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe you\u2019re not saving enough for retirement, or you have debt up to your eyeballs, or you can\u2019t but the Christmas presents for your kids that you\u2019d like to \u2013 or maybe you just have that feeling that it\u2019s time to have a budget!&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No matter what your \u2018why is\u2019 you just need to have one and it needs to be personal and important to you.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ll be honest \u2013 budgeting isn\u2019t fun.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Who actually wants to limit their spending?&nbsp; I wish I could go buy anything at all with no regard as to what future consequences it might endure, but that\u2019s not life.&nbsp; But if you have a really strong \u2018why\u2019 then you\u2019re going to be much more likely to stick to your budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>At first, budgeting won\u2019t be fun \u2013 but once you can actually\nstart truly sticking to it, you\u2019re going to create a lot of momentum and it\u2019s\ngoing to become addicting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Previously, <a href=\"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/budgeting-for-beginners-excel-ashul\/\">I have outlined a way for you to create budget from a blank excel spreadsheet<\/a> and if you\u2019re sitting here without a budget at all, then that\u2019s a great place for you to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you already have a budget and are sticking to it but it\u2019s absolutely killing you, let me first say that I feel your pain.&nbsp; Budgeting is tough.&nbsp; When you first started it was likely a major change from your current habits and you probably felt a bit restricted.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me tell you that there are truly ways for you to be able to live on a budget and still enjoy your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how do you do it?&nbsp;\nEasy!&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BARGAIN HUNT!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that some things that I am not saying include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Eating out less<\/li><li>Doing less \u2018fun\u2019 activities<\/li><li>Traveling less<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You can still do all of these things while still on a\nbudget!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not too long ago <a href=\"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/frugal-living-tips-ashul\/\">I outlined some of the ways that I saved money on my budget<\/a> when I lived in downtown Chicago  and they really are a major part of what allowed to me still go out to bars and restaurants with my friends and still stay within my budget! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, let me give you some actual concrete suggestions of how\nto accomplish this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Eating Out\/Bar Tabs &#8211; Yes, you can save money by simply avoiding them, but there\u2019s other great ways too, including:<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/seated-app-review-ashul\/\">Finding Apps that encourage you to save by dining there <\/a><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Searching for local happy hours.&nbsp; For us in Chicago, we pretty early on created a \u2018Chicago Bucket List\u2019 of bars and restaurants that we wanted to try and then when we wanted to go out to eat or grab a drink, I\u2019d search for specials and if there was a place with a special that was also on the Chicago Bucket List, then we went there!&nbsp; Not only were we saving, but we were going to a place we wanted to go to even when money wasn\u2019t a discussion point!&nbsp; And, maybe even most importantly, it took the inevitable 30-minute debate of where to go out of our hands!&nbsp; That was a huge win lol.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Host Dinner and or a pregame with your friends \u2013 this is cost effective and sometimes can be even more fun as you\u2019re going to be able to have a more conversational evening with your friends!&nbsp; You can <a href=\"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/budget-grocery-list-ashul\/\">save some serious money on grocery and household items<\/a> simply by using the Amazon prime account that you likely already have <\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Doing less \u2018fun\u2019 activities<ul><li>Find things that are free to do! A simple google search can help you with this.&nbsp; We used to live about a \u00bd mile away from a free zoo, so we would go there frequently just to break up the day.&nbsp; Go on hikes.&nbsp; Host a viewing party for a show or game with friends.&nbsp; All of these are free or very cheap!<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Take advantage of Groupon! We used to always go to the Laugh Factory in Chicago which would have comedy shows for $17 but we could buy the same tickets on Groupon for $5.75!&nbsp; So, now we\u2019re paying $11.50 instead of $34 for the two of us to go to a show.&nbsp; Going to a show once\/month would save you a total of $270 throughout the year.&nbsp; Not a huge chunk, but that\u2019s the type of activity that can add up when combined with other frugal tips.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Traveling less<ul><li>Rather than traveling less, travel to where your friends are so you have a free place to stay<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Rather than flying to new cities across the country, drive!&nbsp; Try to stop on the way and check out a few different places before your final destination.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Rather than go to a new city on a weekend trip, go camping!&nbsp; A camping spot is usually $25\/day and then all of your food, drinks, activities are all included at the campsite or are store-bought items that will likely be much cheaper than eating out!<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Travel and stay in a hostel!&nbsp; I have never done this, but I have friends that have, and they absolutely love it.&nbsp; It\u2019s cheap and you can meet new people to spend time with while you\u2019re in the city.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Hold onto your hotel\/airline\/credit card points to maximize value when you\u2019re traveling!&nbsp; This can get you a free trip out there or a few free nights in the hotel.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>If traveling for work, simply take vacation and stay in the city a couple extra days. Your work likely won\u2019t mind and then your transportation has been covered to get there and back.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These all might take a little extra work than you\u2019re\naccustomed to, but they should!&nbsp; You do\nhave to change a little bit to adjust to this new mindset of living within your\nmeans.&nbsp; None of these are hard to\nimplement, they just take some time and a bit of focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you implement some of these tips, chances are, people are going to question how you can do so many fun things and will assume that you\u2019re not accomplishing your financial goals.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Spoiler \u2013 you are!&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people just don\u2019t take the time to focus and find creative ways to have fun and save at the same time, but the truth is you really can live on a budget and still enjoy your life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you have stumbled upon this article than I am guessing that you are either living on a budget and NOT enjoying it or you\u2019re not living on a budget and hoping to get there at some point, likely very soon, in your life. Good news is that regardless of what made you click on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5959,5948],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[2818,5676],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9026"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21107,"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9026\/revisions\/21107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9026"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/einvestingforbeginners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=9026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}