3 Tips to Stay Budget Conscious

Blog

If you’re constantly questioning how to stay in a budget and hate the process, and are therefore struggling to manage your cash flow, today I want to talk to you about a different and fresh approach. 

One that feels expansive, empowering and safe.

One that can even feel fun - yes, fun! 

If it really doesn’t feel natural to you to write down your income and expenses and instead, you do so by force only to feel guilt, shame and judgment about your spending and saving choices, let’s reframe how to do this - without needing to budget in the way you’re used to thinking about it. 

This approach is what I call ‘backdooring your budget’. 

I want you to know that the negative feelings and emotions coming up with your money actually have nothing to do with your budget. It’s all associated with the unfelt emotions you experienced as a child that are now manifesting in the form of how you allocate your money. 

So, let’s look at shifting and reframing that.

Shift How You Talk About Your Money 

For most people I work with and know, the word budget and asking how to stay within a budget feels like a locked container. After all, who feels good about going on a budget?! 

Instead, you’re now going to say how do I want my cash to flow? This small tweak shifts you from a place of restriction, to getting to choose what you do with your life.

And I appreciate, you might say that there are so many external factors that control your finances and what you have available to you - the government, interest rates, the economy…..

But instead of saying ‘I can’t control’, let’s step into the story of expansion. 

You always have a choice about what story you subscribe to. So let’s step out of the victim mentality because whilst in that, you will continue to stay in the suffering cycle. 

So many times with clients, I’ve observed that they felt they couldn’t stay in budget or save money, yet when they desired to purchase a home or get married, they found the money every single time. Why? Because they stepped into their power!

Choose to Make Decisions that Align with Your Desires

This is about making different choices and doing this with full awareness of the life you want to create and what you want it to be filled with.

When we’re not paying attention and on autopilot, the simple fact is, we don’t choose our lives. Backdooring your budget means owning who you are and not choosing to do a traditional budget but instead, choosing to manage your finances in a way that is aligned to that life you truly desire. 

All you have to do is ensure you don’t build up debt and plug into more scarcity in the process. Creating debt means that the bank controls your life as opposed to you being in the driving seat. I have many videos, tips and resources on ways to manage debt and regain your freedom. 

The Practical Way to Backdoor Your Budget

Let’s look at an example. I’d like you to think about what you want to create in your life such as a change in career or job. Well, you need to establish how much you can earn in your new career and then meanwhile, slowly but surely, pull yourself back into the lifestyle that you need to make it happen by giving yourself slightly less each month to spend. 

You don’t need to budget to do this, which immediately releases the burden of showing up where you believe you have to show up in terms of your financials. 

Now, having full awareness is good and it can be incredibly wise to write down where your money is going - but from a place of pure neutrality. No guilt, shame, blame or judgment here!

This is about looking at your spending and choosing where you want your money to go.

This method creates a safe container to reduce what you give yourself to spend monthly, and can support how you naturally operate. It means that you never have to fret again about how to stay in a budget. 

In terms of how to implement this on a practical level, let’s pull some money from your checking account into another account on payday and have this automated. In terms of the amount, let’s reduce it by the amount that provides that safe container. 

If reducing it by $100 feels easy yet $1000 feels way too unsafe, how about somewhere in between? When you consider each number, notice what is occurring in your body. 

Your body’s intelligence will give you the answer. What amount makes you feel relaxed and empowered?

Start at that number. 

See how that number works over 3 months. This isn’t a pay decrease; it’s leading you to that life and career you truly desire. It’s simply about carving and shaving money to get you used to spending less and stacking up some cash, all while creating more of a life you love doing what you love to do in your new career. 

You can then keep changing that amount over time. When you trust your body’s intelligence and inner knowing, you’re going to come up with that adjustment no problem. 

I talk much more about this topic of the wisdom of the body in my Julie Murphy work if you’re curious!

The reason this method works so effectively is that it isn’t about striving and forcing, which causes you to contract. Forcing only hijacks your nervous system and blocks your manifestations coming into reality. 

This is about choosing you - choosing that life of Real Wealth you deserve and desire and stepping into your power!

See how you get on with this method and please don’t forget to join my community where I share more weekly emails, tips and resources on reaching financial freedom and living a life you love!