Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
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Coco Warner ReportingCreating a budget is a fairly straightforward process-- make sure your spending doesn't exceed your income.
Then why is it so difficult to stick to a budget and on top of that, to save?
We're improving the quality of our lives this month, and today we're focusing on our finances.
More specifically, we're talking about budgeting. It's important to have a savings plan and goals for your retirement-- but it all starts with how you spend your money on a day to day basis.
Jenny: "I grew up in a family that was so frugal and we didn't have any credit card debt. We learned to save money early on and so I've always had these habits of discipline and making sure I'm not spending more than I'm making."
Those good habits carried over to her marriage. Jenny and her husband have created a budgeting system that covers everything from daily snacks for the kids to saving for their retirement. They also use a cash system.
Jenny: "The things that we tend to overspend on, we use cash for and so when it's gone, it's gone. That works really well for things like groceries, date and fun money."
Lori Chillingworth/Zions Bank: "Because you'll be surprised at how much money you actually spend that you don't need to. And that's not part of your budget."
Coco Warner/Eyewitness News: "Most of us don't think twice about buying a drink or snack to get us through the day. But you may be surprised about how quickly two dollars can add up over a period of time."
Lori calls this the Strawberry Smoothie Situation.
By saving seven dollars a day -- money quickly spent on things like strawberry smoothies-- you can save $210 a month, nearly $2500 a year. And by using a hypothetical 10 percent growth rate, in 42 years you'd have more than a million dollars for your retirement.
But also, give yourself a break if do buy that occasional smoothie.
Lori Chillingworth/Zions Bank: "Put some money in your budget to reward yourself if you do well. But don't beat yourself up if you don't do well one month, because there's always next month."
Jenny: "This has just been a lifesaver for us. It just makes us feel like we've got control over our money, our finances and it just is great peace of mind."
Some more advice? Don't try and keep track of spending in your head-- write it down. And share your budget and financial goals with somebody else- so they can hold you accountable.
We're going to try and improve your finances for the next few weeks and Zions Bank also wants to help.
Zions Bank and KSL 5 want to pay off your month's debt. Add up your monthly payments, credit cards, mortgage, car loans, personal loans. Then send us the total along with your information... name, address, phone number, and your date of birth... to contests@ksl.com.
You have until Thursday to submit your entry when we randomly select a winner.
We'll announce that winner Friday, May 19th.
