With 2019 behind us, it’s time to turn your attention to the new year. This means many things in regards to your finances, including the creation of a budget that you can trust to guide you toward success. The COVID-19 pandemic fallout will likely cause your budget to affect your personal economy.
If you faced any budget related issues in the past 12 months, it’s important to fix these in the immediate future. Neglecting to do so will only make things worse on you as the year wears on.
Here are three basic tips you can follow to prepare a better budget for 2020:
- Keep What Worked
It goes without saying that your 2019 budget wasn’t a complete and total disaster. Even if it failed you in some ways, you can probably keep some portions of it in place.
Review your budget to answer this one question: what worked for you?
- Focus on Failures
Nobody wants to realize that they’ve made budget related mistakes in the past, but this may be reality in your world.
By focusing on past failures, you can keep these out of your budget in the future.
For example, you may find that you consistently spent more than you budgeted for across several categories. What changes can you make to prevent this same scenario over the next 12 months?
- Make Changes as you go
Many people create a budget in January and assume that it will carry them through the entire year. This may be your hope, but you never know what the future will bring.
If you need to make changes to your budget during the year, so be it. It’s better to address issues as they arise than it is to wait until the next year to implement a solution.
These tips will allow you to prepare a better budget for 2020. Subsequently, you’ll feel confident in your ability to make sound financial decisions over the next 12 months.