How to Handle Overspending

We try not to play favorites, but if we had a favorite rule, let’s just say Rule Three: Roll With the Punches, would be a front-runner.

And we talk a lot about “Rolling with the Punches,” but today we want to talk about exactly what you can do to address overspending.

Scroll through your budget and see where you are habitually overspending. Actually, you probably don’t even have to do that, you probably know exactly where you are overspending because it is in the same categories nearly every month. (Ahem, eating out.)

This exercise is not meant to be about guilt or blame. Not at all. This is intended to help gather information and reveal truth about your spending. Because your spending is reality. We want to—well, sometimes we don’t—but we should operate in reality.

If you are spending $200 over your grocery budget every single month, the amount you are budgeting is probably just not realistic. You could say, “Ok. I accept the fact that I will never reduce my spending on groceries.” But if you do that, you will have to find that money somewhere else. This would be accepting that you prioritize groceries more than you originally thought you did. And now that you’ve accepted that reality and adjusted your budget you are more aligned with reality.

Or you could say, “I don’t like this reality. I don’t want this reality.” And you can decide to spend less. Which is great, but unless you have a plan, it is very likely your reality will not change. If we are sticking with the grocery analogy, how will you spend less on groceries? You need a specific plan of attack.

Increase your budget or commit to reducing your spending with intentionality and you will have a budget that supports your reality.