10 Ways to Reward Yourself That Won’t Bust Your Budget

You’ve been plugging away for months creating zero-based budgets, logging your transactions, paying down debt, and saving up for emergencies.

Maybe you’ve been budgeting for years, but you just started streamlining the process with the EveryDollar app. Maybe this entire budgeting concept is completely new to you. In any case, if you’ve been working hard at crushing those goals, it’s time to reward yourself. You know what they say: “All work and no reward make for one burnt-out budgeter,” or something like that.

You might think rewards sound expensive. The truth is rewarding yourself can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.

Don’t neglect treating yourself just because you think your new budgeting lifestyle can’t handle it. There are plenty of ways to reward yourself that won’t bust your budget. And because you know we’ve got your back, we’ve come up with a solid list of thrifty or free ways to do just that!

Six Most Commonly Missed Expenses for August

Can you hear that? School bells are ringing. Somehow summer’s nearly gone. (Where did it go?) Maybe you’re not ready for summer to end—but you should make sure your budget is!

If you’re still popping leftover firecrackers in denial that summer’s over, it’s time to move on. As you arrange your budget for all the change August can bring, think of these commonly overlooked expenses:

What is a Sinking Fund?

Money doesn’t come easy. We learn this truth when our first real paycheck falls far below our youthful expectations.

And what about managing money? That doesn’t come easy, either. We have to be purposeful and intentional if we hope to give, save and spend wisely.

One way to be intentional is to set up a sinking fund in your budget.

How to Stop the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle

Ever catch yourself counting down the days until payday?

Maybe you charged a pair of running shoes last month, and the bill just came in. Or maybe your check-engine light is on, and you’re dreading the repair. Either way, that paycheck can’t come fast enough—and might not be enough.

For 78% of Americans, living paycheck to paycheck is a way of life—an endless cycle of money going out almost as soon as it comes in.(1)

But around here, we have this crazy idea that you can break the cycle of spending more than you make by setting up a solid budget. You don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck! Here’s how:

Downsize Your House; Further Your Budget

What would you do with an extra $100,000 sitting in your bank account? You read that right. That’s five zeros.

Take a quick look at your budget, and you’ll see plenty of places that extra money would do some powerful work. Maybe you could get rid of that Debt category for good and free up money for fun and the future. What a weight off that would be, right?

But how?

We have a radical solution—but we realize it’s a hard sell. Why? Because we’re suggesting downsizing.

Everyone knows the saying, “home is where the heart is.” But we also know a house is just a building. A home is about the people in it. And if the people in your house are ready to make the move (literally and figuratively) to financial peace, we’ve got the info you need.