Managing Money Pt. 2: Creating a Budget

Recovery Management icon

Having more money to spend can either be exciting or worrying in recovery.

Creating a budget alleviates the worry and ability to give in to self-gratification, whether finances are high or low.

One of the many perks of starting your recovery journey is that it’s much cheaper than active addiction. This part of recovery can be very exciting but can also be extremely challenging and scary. Active addiction rewired our brains to seek the instant gratification of every choice and situation. We may have put the substances down, but it’s easy to spark a new addiction with bad or impulsive spending habits. As much as we want to gain our independence back and live as responsible, productive members of society, we also have to give ourselves and our brains time to heal and create new habits.

Finances can also be a large stressor and can also be a trigger for some of us. A lot of us have dug ourselves into large amounts of debts, have legal obligations to take care of, or are completely starting from the ground up. Any of us that have been through this first-hand know that it’s much easier to get into these tough spots than it is to get out. But it is possible, just like recovery! Creating a budget is a great first step. But there’s more to creating a budget than you might realize at the start. Let’s keep things simple and break things down into basic steps.

Published

11/21/2022

Category

Recovery Tools

Author

Christine Paul

#1

Set goals & determine your income.

The first thing we need to do when creating a budget is to set financial goals. In our first part of our money management series, we detailed what kind of goals to set for ourselves. They can range from getting rid of credit card debt, to saving for a new car, to bullying up a retirement fund. Once we know what our short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals are, then we can focus on our income. We need to look at our income to determine if it can support our new goals as is, or if we need to make adjustments to our employment. It’s not just about wages though. Everyone has a side hustle. Just make sure it’s a healthy one!

#2

Determine your expenses & limit spending.

Now that we know what our income is, we need to clearly outline what our expenses are. Expenses can include groceries, gas or transportation fare, phone bill, house or apartment payments, monthly subscriptions, and so on. It’s always a good idea to include a category for miscellaneous expenses, as well. This can come in handy on those days you forget to pack a lunch and have to buy one in place, or when you need a last minute item from the store. Seeing what your income is spent on every month in an outline format can help you determine whether or not certain things need to be cut back or completely cut out of your budget.

#3

Create your budget…& stick to it!

Once we set our goals and determine that both our income and expenses will support those goals, it’s officially time to make the budget. Sticking to a budget is more important than creating one, but sometimes sticking to a budget is harder than we think. It does take discipline and patience, but utilizing an accountability partner and looking at your budget can often help the process. Remember, you may need to adjust your spending to stay on budget. Sometimes that’s the hardest part. Also, let’s be real, life continues to change whether we’re ready for it or not. If we need to adjust goals, restart, or ask for help, that’s okay! It’s part of the process.

“A budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went.”

John Maxwell

Conclusion

Key takeaways

  • Creating and sticking to a budget can help deter you from impulsive spending and new addictions.
  • The first step to creating a budget is to set goals and determine if your income supports your goals.
  • The second step to creating a budget is determining your necessary expenses and limiting your spending.
  • The last, and most important, to creating a budget is sticking to it. It’s not useful if you don’t use it.

Challenge

Apply to your life

Read Managing Money Pt. 1 if you haven’t already. This will give you a good understanding of what your financial goals should be. After that, spend a few hours this week determining if your income and spending support your goals. Make a budget and stick with it!

Conclusion

Key takeaways

  • Creating and sticking to a budget can help deter you from impulsive spending and new addictions.
  • The first step to creating a budget is to set goals and determine if your income supports your goals.
  • The second step to creating a budget is determining your necessary expenses and limiting your spending.
  • The last, and most important, to creating a budget is sticking to it. It’s not useful if you don’t use it.

Challenge

Apply to your life

Read Managing Money Pt. 1 if you haven’t already. This will give you a good understanding of what your financial goals should be. After that, spend a few hours this week determining if your income and spending support your goals. Make a budget and stick with it!

Credit where credit is due

This article was inspired by Life in Balance presented by Hazelden Foundation. If you would like to check out additional recovery articles, videos, and podcast episodes, check us out at artisticrecovery.org.

Christine Paul

Christine is the Director of Peer Services at Three20 Recovery. She is a Certified Addiction Peer Recovery coach and holds a degree in Psychology. She has worked in the treatment and recovery field for over 5 years. She brings personal and professional experience. She is passionate about recovery and helping to bridge the gaps for those seeking it.

Subscribe

Recovery resources anytime, anywhere.

Subscribe

Recovery resources anytime, anywhere.

Check out some related episodes

Want to read more?

Head back to our library.

Active addiction rewired our brains to seek the instant gratification of every choice and situation. We may have put the substances down, but it’s easy to spark a new addiction with bad or impulsive spending habits.

Interested in Recovery Coaching?

Sessions are available via Zoom and are always free of charge.

LET’S TALK