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The Brokeboi Mentality: Keep your pockets deep with good budgeting
We all know we gotta spend less to save more. So why is it so hard to? How do you trim that spending to keep the guap? The answer is simple: Brokeboi Budgeting.
But again, that sounds wild complicated to actually put into practice. So I’m here to save you so you can save your coins. Peep the following to learn how to budget properly and stay within your limits.
Track your spending to Identify Habits
No, you don’t need to keep all your receipts. This is the digital age, put away your notepad boomer. Use apps to track your spendings like Mint or an expense tracker. Some bank apps also track your spending like Chase and Discover although they’re not always customizable. Tracking your spending is the most important part and usually the hardest part of budgeting.
That’s why you need to find a system that works for you.
When you do, find out what you spend the most money on. For me, it’s food and drinks. Which was surprising considering I felt more guilty about spending on clothes and Ubers?
I spend a lot of guap on coffee and tend to buy more food than I actually end up finishing or eating. Plus if I just used the bud I already had I wouldn’t be spending so much on drinks.
Pre-game people. And by people, I mean me.
Start small
You don’t need to cut off what feels like essentials right away. Let’s go back to the food example. I don’t NEED to spend $15 on every meal. So, now I substitute at least one meal a day with food from home.
If I have dinner plans with someone, I’ll bring lunch to work and snacks (hopefully healthy) to help me make better financial decisions when I have to buy a full meal.
Make rules for yourself like, I will only buy food/drinks if I know I will finish them, if I don’t, I have to take them home as leftovers. If you spend a lot of money on products from the convenience store, then order in bulk, fool.
Preferably from small businesses because you understand the struggle.
If you’re spending $400 a month on food, commit to $350. Use an app like Mint, which will let you know when you’ve gone over your budget, and let you track how you’re doing along the way.
Use the Apps at your disposal
Speaking of apps like Mint, there’s so much tech out there to help you make better decisions with your money.
In the world of subscription services sometimes you forget what you’re paying for every month until you get that bill. Maybe you’re not even checking your statements often enough to see those monthly subs.
And calling to cancel the subscription you never use is so annoying and you put it off all the time. Try an app that does it for you. Bobby, Subscript Me, and Trim all work to help you track and cancel, or negotiate subscription services with a low fee.
Find cheaper in price not in quality alternatives to things.
If you crave something sweet, instead of buying a $6 cupcake, get a chocolate bar from your local supermarket/convenience store. Get a box of cookies instead of that one big bakery cookie. Wait until after 4 pm when most shops will discount their food/pastries.
When you gotta take a cab, check Uber, Lyft, and Via because chances are one will be a lower price. Same with UberEats, Seamless, Grubhub, Postmates and Ritual. Never pay full price on something you can find a coupon for. Groupon that shit.
Use Nordstrom Rack, Marshall’s, TJ Max for your high-quality clothing basics. Nike socks can be bought at a lot more places than Nike, which means more chances for lower price points.
So, more money in your pocket leftover.
Thrifting, of course, can also help you save. Get that distressed/used looking graphic tee from Goodwill, not Urban Outfitters. If you shop online, you can still use sites like Poshmark, DePop, and Thredup for thrifted goods.
And if online shopping is your main outlet, shop over longer periods of time. Leave it in the cart and come back to it to avoid impulse buying and running over your budget. If you still want what’s in the cart a couple of days later, get it.
Make the required adjustments if not. If you shop in person more make a list of what you need/want overtime before you go on your spree. And Stick to it
Commit
This brings us to our last and most important action. Commitment. Stick to your budget. Yeah, it’s okay to splurge and treat yourself from time to time but budget that too. You can’t spend money you don’t have.
Well… you can but that’s why you’re the BrokeBoi reading this.
