12 Finance Bloggers Share Their Best Personal Finance Secrets

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If you didn’t know, there are a huge number of money blogs out there, from people talking about investing and stocks to those charging ahead on the ‘retire early’ bandwagon!

I reached out to some of my favourite money bloggers and asked them for their best budget habits to share with you all today.

Take a look below for some of the finest advice you’ll ever get on your personal finances – straight from the experts.

12 Bloggers Share Their Best Budget Tips:

1. Rob Anderson | Mustard Seed Money

My best budget habit tip would be to create a budget using the cash envelop system.  Studies have shown that people that pay with cash, spend 5% less each month than those that use credit card.  By allocating your money each month into these envelopes you will be aware of how much you are spending each week and more importantly, hopefully spending less.

2. Mrs Picky Pincher | Picky Pinchers

My best budget tip is to check the budget every week. I’m guilty of creating a budget and not looking at it until the end of the month, where I’m dismayed at how much money I’ve spent. When I make it a habit to check the budget weekly (or more), I’m able to course-correct before I spend money. For example, if I notice I’ve been eating at restaurants a lot lately, I know I need to rein in my food spending. It’s a wonderful way to keep myself honest.

3. Much More with Less

Keep a spending diary. That’s my top tip every time. Record everything you spend, find out where your money disappears, and then make changes

4. Lylia from LyliaRose.com

Keep a spreadsheet of all your incomings and outgoings. Once payday comes you can work out exactly what you have left to spend for the month and divide this up into how many weeks there are before the next payday. Make sure you stick to this and you’ll not overspend. Include savings in your outgoings too so you’re not tempted to use this as spending money.

5. My Money Cottage

For us, if we’re not careful then the food shop can be astronomical and make a huge dent in our weekly budget. Meal plan and write a shopping list before you go food shopping. Check what you’ve already got in the cupboards too and make use of that in your meal plan, food waste is a big problem these days! It also makes it much less tempting to buy expensive takeaways and if you’ve already planned meals for the week ahead.

6. Passive Income Wise 

Communication. If you are living with your couple, even if only one person manages the finances at home, the other person should know about the family’s budgeting plan too. My wife and I meet once a month to check out how we did during the past month and plan for the next one. This helps us to be aware of where we are in terms of savings and to meet our financial goals. A budget is a compromise between you and your couple and it will never work if the other person is not aware of it.

7. Alexis | FITnancials

Pair up with a friend and start saving money together. Create a budget either on an app or on paper, and meet up weekly to follow up on how you both did with sticking to your budget. This will hold you more accountable and you’ll save more money.

8. Eat Pray Budget

Pay with cash for things like groceries, entertainment and clothing. You’ll likely stay on budget and may even save some money in the process. It’s a lot harder psychologically to part with cash versus swiping a card.

9. The Debt Chronicles

Become obsessed with saving. If you really have to get serious about your finances, you have to make it a part of who you are. Almost every decision should be based around your finances until you get to where you want to be!

10. Boost My Budget

I recommend planning regular no-spend weekends (or even weeks!). Even better if you can get your family, partner or housemates on board. Not only will you save money in the short run, it will also make you more aware of your spending habits. You might not realise how often you reach for your wallet until you start paying attention!

11. Miss Thrifty

Hold a household summit. At the end of every month, my husband and I sit down at the kitchen table, review the month’s spending and run through our income and outgoings for the following month. Our income varies month to month and we need to moderate budgets in line with this. Also, despite being married we keep our finances separate, so it’s useful to know what the other one is up to. The monthly meeting also provides a platform for the discussion of any longer-term ideas, for example how much we should be overpaying on the mortgage.

12. Debt Camel

Automate your budget so far as possible, putting aside the money for this month’s bills, annual expenses and big things you want to save for as soon as you are paid. This makes it easy to see how much spending money you have.

I hope you enjoyed this post!

What are your best budget habits? Are there any you’re now going to put into practice?!