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!

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:

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.

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.

If you’re like most adults, money plays a big role in your everyday life. After all, you work hard to earn it!

That’s why it hurts so much when money slips through your fingers before you even have the chance to really do something with it.

So let’s talk about the power of healthy habits, specifically money habits.