This blog is the perfect example. I decided I wanted to do a financial blog and jumped right in, gung ho, with a plan in the back of my mind of posting every weekday. A week later, my theory was posting Monday-Thursday. That lasted about 2 days, and now its been 2 weeks since I’ve posted. I fell off the wagon.

That’s what often happens with a first budget. People go in to the budget process without all the information they need, set goals that are too aggressive, and within weeks are completely off the budget bandwagon, because they just can’t do what they set out to do.

In the case of this blog, I had to sit back and look at the other commitments I have, and decide what kind of time and energy I realistically have to devote to this blog. And then, I need to put a plan together.

That plan is that this will be a Tuesday/Thursday blog, at least for now, while I develop a habit of writing about financial issues and to make sure I don’t run out of steam or ideas too quickly.

In the case of a budget, this is why you’ve been tracking your spending. In order to make a realistic plan for your money, you have to honestly look at what you’ve been doing with your money. Then set a simple, easy to achieve goal – like getting your eating out budget down, or reducing the grocery budget by $20 a week.

Start with something simple. Create a habit. And once the habit is in place, revisit. Always be willing to revisit your budget. If its not working, and you fall off, don’t be afraid to get back on, but make changes so that its easier to stick with. And if it is working and you think you can do more, then go for it.