How Mindfulness Can Finally Get You To Stick To Your Budget

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Even with the best intentions, following a budget is difficult for most people. In fact, 84% of Americans with a monthly budget say they sometimes go over, according to a NerdWallet survey.

While some issues like inflation and emergency medical expenses aren’t in your control, plenty of people overspend by buying things they don’t need. The NerdWallet study found that after groceries, the most common overspending categories include dining out, clothing, entertainment streaming services, and food delivery services.

Just telling yourself to stick to your budget doesn’t always work, as evidenced by the many who overspend, despite being self-aware enough to know they’re overspending. However, a different aspect of awareness — known as mindfulness — could help you stay on track.

Also here are 35 useless expenses you need to slash from your budget now.

What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is often associated with meditation, but that’s just one way to practice mindfulness. 

“Mindfulness to me is a practice of bringing both attention and intention to the present moment by tuning into what you are feeling, noticing, or thinking. You are observing each of those things without judgment and giving yourself space to notice what comes up inside you before choosing to take an action,” explained Dr. Heather Stevenson, a licensed psychologist.

“It’s about being able to take an objective observer’s view of whatever it is you are trying to be more mindful about,” she added.

How Mindfulness Relates to Budgeting

Being aware of the present moment in a non-judgmental way can be useful for budgeting, because finance isn’t just about hard numbers.

“We tend to have lots of anxieties and very strong emotions due to our money. We get happy when we have lots of it and get worried, embarrassed, or upset when we don’t think we have enough. This can affect us physically as well,” said Wendell Clarke, behavioral wealth specialist at Wealth Enhancement Group.

The thoughts, feelings, and experiences around money can affect your decisions, so awareness can lead to choices that better align with your long-term goals.

“Being mindful requires you to name what is important to you now and in the future, and align your money habits with your values,” said Dr. Traci Williams, psychologist at Poui Consulting.

Building a Budget With Mindfulness

Rather than creating a budget based on instincts or what someone else suggests, mindfulness can help you build a budget that’s more practical and comfortable for you to follow.

For starters, you might “check in mindfully with yourself about the word ‘budget,'” said Dr. Stevenson. “For many people the word brings up immediate feelings of restriction or shut down. When you mindfully notice what response you have to that word, you might then choose to call it something else like a spending plan and notice how that feels.” 

From there, you might notice what you’re thinking and feeling as you figure out what your budget or spending plan should include.

“When you sit down to set up your budget, set the intention to look at your numbers without judging yourself. Then bring attention by noticing how and where you spend your money already and where you want to see your money spent in the future,” said Dr. Stevenson.

In doing so, you might feel more comfortable spending money in certain areas, while realizing you can pull back in others.

“Consider what is important to you. After accounting for your essential expenses like housing and transportation, include your valued experiences as line items in your spending plan. If you enjoy going to concerts, or frequenting the movies with your kids, build these into your budget,” said Dr. Williams.

At the same time, you might realize that you’ve been delaying the feelings that can come from tackling overspending, and mindfulness could help you get more comfortable sitting with difficult emotions.

“Mindfulness encourages you to pull your head out of the sand and acknowledge your money mistakes. Perhaps you haven’t been saving enough or have debt to pay off. Attend to your financial needs in order to give yourself greater peace of mind,” said Dr. Williams.

Following a Budget Mindfully

Not only can mindfulness help you create a more practical budget for your situation, but it can also make it easier to follow — particularly by avoiding impulse purchases that you might not even realize you’re making.

For example, “with sadness, instead of going for ‘retail therapy,’ I can acknowledge that I am avoiding socialization because I feel sad and that buying things will not address the reason that I am sad, and that I can instead call a friend I trust to talk to or to come over and help cheer me up,” said Clarke.

You also might get more comfortable with the feeling of wanting to buy something but not being able to afford it.

“Mindfulness is about letting whatever is there be there, without having to act on it or change it in the moment,” said Dr. Stevenson.  

So if you’re a book lover in a bookstore, you might notice the feeling of wanting to buy a lot of books right now, she explained, along with urges like putting the books in your basket or moving from section to section.

“If I can simply notice all those things and practice letting them be there, without judging myself or responding right away, I can see that it’s an impulse that I don’t have to act on if I’m also trying not to spend all my money on books. I can enjoy looking at them in the store, maybe note down the ones I may want to get later, and walk out without having blown my budget for the month,” she said.

How to Improve Mindfulness

While mindfulness can be a great tool for following a budget, it’s a skill that needs to be developed. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to improve mindfulness.

“One way to increase your mindfulness is to sit quietly and notice the information coming in through your five senses,” said Dr. Williams. Guided meditations on apps like Calm and Headspace — even just for five minutes a day — can also help, she said.

Or you might prefer a more active approach, like yoga, suggested Clarke.

And if you’re out and about, you can also practice mindfulness by simply tuning in to what’s happening in the present, rather than running on autopilot.

“To improve your mindfulness skills for budgeting, start by paying more attention to anything around you for a few minutes and notice what thoughts, feelings, or sensations happen,” said Dr. Stevenson.

In many ways, mindfulness is simple, although it can take work to build this skill. Over time, however, mindfulness can pay off when it comes to budgeting and overall life satisfaction.

“This practice has many benefits, including reducing your engagement in destructive habits, as well as decreasing anxiety and depression,” said Dr. Williams.

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