“Budget” isn’t exactly the sexiest word in personal finance.
It gets tossed around so much that, for a lot of people, it feels more like a punishment than a plan.
But if you are trying to organize your money or hit a financial goal faster, you do need to plan out your spending for at least a few months.
That’s why this week’s money move is to create a spending plan!
The beautiful things about the English language is that there are multiple terms for the some concept. That’s why we’re replacing the term “budget” with one we think is more appropriate: Spending Plan.
At its core, this plan is about giving our money some direction so we’re not just crossing our fingers hoping for the best. Here’s how:
1. Start with just two categories.
-
Income: What’s coming in.
-
Expenses: What’s going out.
2. Keep it simple. You can put anything that’s automated in a separate column but anything discretionary should be broad. You can always get more detailed later.
3. Use a spreadsheet. Budget apps are cool, but a spreadsheet gets you up close and personal with ALL your transactions. Ours is mobile-optimized so you can track your transactions in real time. 😎
Our 2025 Spending Planner is a powerful tool to keep your money organized and your bills on track.
You get 20+ sheets including an annual dashboard, 12 monthly budget tabs, and (our favorite!) opportunity cost and cost-per-use calculators. You can also easily organize your spending, track your savings goals, and stay motivated with the debt snowball tracker to pay off debt faster.
You’ll also get our 60-Page Values-Based Spending Guide as a BONUS. You can count on us to make everything useful and far from boring, including budgeting.
⚡️ We drop a new money move every Monday! Keep an eye on your inbox (or Insta @weeklymoneymove) so you don’t miss it.
Reset on Sundays With Us!
How do you pay off debt fast if you can’t increase your income? Jen and Jill didn’t hold back in sharing what it really looks like to go all in on extreme frugality. Oh, and yes you can totally steal their weekly meal plans too.
Warmest ☀️
Goldie
⭐️⭐️ P.S. Want to share all this goodness with your friends AND earn cool Frugal Friends merch?
**Means this is a sponsored or affiliate section. We may earn a small fee or commission when you choose to try one of our sponsor or affiliate partners. But opinions are still 1000% our own.
