If you’ve ever tried to follow a complicated budget and gave up after a week, you’re not alone. It’s easy to feel blackpilled about your budget. When housing, food and student loans eat away at your income, it’s not unreasonable to feel like a budget won’t do much for your finances.
But here’s the thing: Paying attention to your money is more about protecting yourself from mayhem than disciplining yourself out of any fun. This guide walks you through a minimalist budgeting method built for short attention spans, limited energy and the real life costs of living in America today. It’s fast to set up, maintain and doesn’t require spreadsheets or daily check-ins. Let’s get into it.
Start With One Number a Week
You don’t need to make a picture-perfect spreadsheet, or a notebook with color-coordinated highlighters. (No shade if that’s your thing, though!) The easiest and quickest way to budget is to keep it simple. And it doesn’t get much more simple than setting a hard limit on how much you can spend on everything that isn’t a fixed bill, like rent. Here’s how to make it work:
- Think about what you’re up to that week, where you’re going and if you have any special events you want to be able to spend money at
- With your monthly income in mind, pick a number that feels like a safe limit for this week’s spending
- Every Friday, auto-transfer that amount to a debit card or prepaid wallet
- Spend from that card only — when it runs out, you’re done for the week
This single move helps you stay aware of your spending without having to track every coffee or impulse buy.
Use Just Enough Tech to Stay in the Loop
You’re not a day trader, and you don’t need complicated tech to manage your finances. Taking a tech-light, minimalist approach can help you curb anxiety around money. This approach makes it easy to know where you’re at, without having to log back into that app you can never remember the password to.
- Add low-balance alerts for both your checking account and weekly spending card
- Turn on fraud alerts to catch anything unexpected
- Use payday to limit the amount of debt and interest you carry, and to build a safety net:
- Move a small amount to savings
- Pay off your credit card if you use one
This easy setup can save you a lot of money and stress in the long run — no labels or formulas required.
Build a Future Fund Before Anything Else
Traditional budgeting advice always starts with an emergency fund. This can be a major turn-off when you spend most of your money on rent and food, making it difficult to achieve those recommended savings of 3-6 months. Instead, try starting with a “Future Fund.” This is a small, short-term savings goal tied to something you want, not something you’re afraid will happen. That’s stuff like covering moving expenses for a better job, travel or an investment in your growth, like a certification or class.
Pick one goal and aim for a $500 balance. Put this money into a high-yield savings account, and let compounding interest add to the work you’ve already done. Add to your fund every time you get paid, and watch your money grow.
Add Friction to Impulse Spending
Impulse purchases usually happen because it’s too easy to say “yes” to the thing tempting you. Willpower can be overcome, so do yourself a favor and make it more difficult to buy stuff when the impulse hits.
- Turn off one-click checkout
- Log out of shopping apps after each session
- Use a 24-hour “cart park” rule: Screenshot what you want and look again tomorrow
- Mute or unfollow accounts that post constant deals, sales and discount codes
What About Debt?
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