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MINDFUL BUDGETINGP R O G R A M

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Table of Contents

Introduction

My Relationship with Money

How to Use This Book

Weekly Spending

Monthly Budget

Monthly Check-In

Monthly Calendar

Align Your Budget

You’re Ready

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9

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13

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One of the most frequently asked questions I get from readers and friends is, “What’s the

best budgeting app to use?” I’ve downloaded and tested so many now that I can honestly

say… I don’t like any of them.

Let me be clear: there are some really neat tools out there! We live in an exciting time

where creative (and number-loving) people can make their visions come to life with the

click of a mouse and some code. But personal finance is just that – personal – and so far,

none of the budgeting apps I’ve used have met my personal needs.

Do they let you track your spending? Yes. Do they update your monthly budget, so you

can see how much money you have left? Sure. Do they show you projections for how

much money you could save over many years? Yea, some have that, too. And it’s cool to

look at. (I can geek out over a good savings spreadsheet with projections!)

But none of them give you the space you need to really dig deep, analyze your spending,

and see what you’re doing well or how you could do better. No app asks you what you’re

happy to have spent money on, which financial decisions you’re most proud of, whether

your goals have changed, and how you want to move forward in each new week and month.

A budgeting app can do some math for you, but it can’t ask how you’re feeling about

the numbers; that’s why I created this program.

Over the past few years, I’ve been able to pay off $30,000 of debt, build up a $10,000

emergency fund, save for retirement, travel all over North America, and still cut down my

spending so much that I’m now living on just 50% of my take home income. There was no

secret formula that helped make it all happen. All I did was make a habit of taking a more

mindful approach to my personal finances – and it’s changed everything about the way I

see numbers.

In Mindful Budgeting, I’ll share the story of my relationship with money, so you can see

where I started and how I got to where I am today. After that, I’ve included the four

templates that helped me get here, along with suggestions for how to use them. These

templates are what I used on a weekly basis to reach all my financial goals. Print them off

at the beginning of each month and use them to help you reach yours.

Good luck, friend!

Cait

Introduction

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I don’t remember much about what I had to do to earn an allowance as a kid, or how

much money my parents gave me, but I do remember what it felt like to get my first

paycheck from my first job. In exchange for deep-frying and dishing out containers of

french fries to customers part-time after school and on weekends, every two weeks I

got to take home around $175 – and at age 16, I knew exactly how I was going to spend

it. I needed to fill up my car with gas, I wanted to walk around the mall on my break and

shop, and then of course I had to go out for food and to the movies with all my friends. I’d

worked hard for that $175 and I wanted to spend it – so much so that it was gone within

the first few days of receiving it. By the time I got my second paycheck from that job, I

had probably $2-5 left in my bank account and was desperate for more money. My car

needed gas again, I think I owed my parents or best friend $5-10 for picking up the tab

on something, and I wanted to buy more things and go out and have more fun. Again, I

spent it all in a few days, saved nothing and was broke for a week before my next payday.

Unfortunately, this was a pattern that continued well into my adulthood.

After a few months, I left the french fry kiosk for a job at the muffin shop in the mall. My

new job came with a raise (of a whopping $0.25/hour) and I couldn’t wait to have an

extra $15/month to play with. I worked much harder at the muffin shop, and my manager

noticed, so she consistently gave me raises of $0.25/hour here and there, until I was

making $8.75/hour. With each raise I got, I spent more money – typically on food at the

mall, when I was on a break at work. When I graduated from high school, I went from

working part-time hours to full-time hours, and my paychecks quickly doubled from

$250 to more than $600. At age 18, I felt as though I’d made it. I was bringing home up

to $1,200/month and could afford to do and buy whatever I wanted! So, I did. I bought

lots of CDs, accessories for my car, books, clothes, cosmetics and more. I had no problem

dropping $40 or more on a DVD box set of my favorite show. And the more money I

made, the more often I went out with friends, and treated my boyfriend at the time to

more dinners and bigger presents on special occasions.

A few months before I turned 19, I quit my job at the muffin shop, and took a new job

at a call centre where I was making $9.50/hour + commission + overtime when it was

available. At that job, I was bringing home anywhere from $1,500-1,900/month and,

again, I knew exactly how I was going to spend the extra money before I even got it.

Back then (this was nearing the summer of 2004), rent was cheap in my hometown, so

my boyfriend and I decided we could afford to move out of our parents’ houses and into

a one-bedroom apartment of our own. Our rent was $600/month, which we split evenly

along with our other bills and groceries. I loved the freedom that came with living on my

own. We had people over all the time, drank (my boyfriend was already 19, so he could

My Relationship with Money

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legally buy us alcohol) whenever we wanted to and partied every weekend. And I loved

shopping for new things for our place and making it feel like home. Despite making more

money than I ever had before, though, I still often only had $5-10 in my bank account the

night before payday – and I had almost nothing in the form of savings. Things got worse

when I turned 19 and applied for my first credit card.

While most 19-year-olds I knew were given a credit limit of just $500, my first credit card

came with a limit of $1,000 – and from the minute I got it, I saw it as extra money to

spend. Instead of being broke for a week before my next payday, I used my credit card to

buy more things and pay for more nights out with friends. Now that I was legal age, that

included nights out at the bar, and I always treated people to rounds of drinks and shots.

Whenever my boyfriend mentioned something he wanted, I went out and “surprised” him

with it the next day. And I quickly filled our apartment with things I thought we could

enjoy together. It didn’t take long for me to nearly max out my $1,000 limit, and then the

limit increase notices from my credit card issuer started coming in. Over the next four

years, they increased my limit to $1,500, $2,000, $3,000 and then $5,000. Each increase

felt more like a raise, and I always found things to spend it on: things for my apartment,

newer cell phones, my first computer, and the list goes on and on. As long as there was

room on my credit card, I did and bought whatever I wanted – until the day came that

I couldn’t.

The first time I was maxed out financially was in April 2009. Just a few months before

that, a different boyfriend and I had broken up. I was devastated by the breakup, and

reacted by moving out and into my own place for the first time, buying all new furniture

(on credit) and financing a brand new car over five years. Looking back now, I can see

that I thought I might feel better if everything else in my life looked better. And I did feel

better – that is, until my credit cards and line of credit were maxed out, and I couldn’t pay

for the lifestyle I’d been living anymore. Stressed out, I went to the bank and asked if I

could consolidate all my debts into one loan, so I only had to make one monthly payment.

This is it, I thought. I hate being in debt. I’m finally going to pay it all off. The lending

specialist punched some numbers into his computer, then gave me a $12,000 loan, paid

off my credit cards and line of credit with it, and told me I could pay off the loan over five

years. “Do you want me to lower the limits on your credit cards?” he asked. “No, thanks,” I

replied. “I’m going to be good from now on.”

The problem with that statement is that, while I made it with good intentions, I didn’t

actually know what it meant to “be good” with my money. I had always just done and

bought whatever I wanted, and had no idea how it compared to how much I actually

earned or how much I was overspending by each month. What I do know is that my

lifestyle didn’t change after I consolidated my debt in 2009; it only continued to inflate as

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I got more raises at my new job with the government, and as I continued to use my credit

cards to pay for whatever I needed between the time I ran out of money and when I got

my next paycheck. By this point, I was 23 years old and already making close to $50,000/

year. In the two years that followed, I continued to live on my own and swipe for this

lifestyle I couldn’t afford, which now included another new passion of mine: travel. Finally,

after months of ignoring my credit card statements, and peeling back just the top corners

of their envelopes so I could peek inside and see how much the minimum payment was

(without looking at the outstanding balance), I found myself maxed out again – and this

time, I was in trouble.

In May 2011, I had no choice but to change the way I handled my money. I only had $100

in my bank account and $100 left on my credit card limit, and all of that needed to last

for six weeks. At age 25, I had to ask my parents if I could move back home for a few

months, while I got myself back on my feet. They agreed and were so supportive, but

even with the comfort of being in my family home, I still cried myself to sleep most nights.

The worst part was that I also had to secretly ask my little sister, who was just 17, if I could

borrow $70 to get through those first few weeks. At the time, she didn’t understand how

bad my financial situation was, but I knew – and I hated that I hadn’t been a better role

model for her. Once I got past those six weeks, and I got another paycheck (I’d taken a

sort of sabbatical from work while I was finishing my degree), I knew I never wanted to

feel that sad or stressed out again. I didn’t know anything about budgeting, but I knew I

wanted to get out of debt, so I started by writing down the numbers and giving myself a

reality check.

In an old notebook, which only had 10-15 blank pages left at the back, I mapped out a

debt repayment plan. First, I added up all the numbers: there was my car loan, my debt

consolidation loan, two credit cards (maxed out again) and some money my parents

had loaned me for tuition. Altogether, I had just over $28,000 of debt. From there, I

looked at the list and decided I was going to pay off one at a time, starting with the one

I hated carrying the most: the money my parents had loaned me. It didn’t matter that

they weren’t charging me any interest. I felt guiltier about owing my parents money,

over any bank or credit card company, so the first part of my debt repayment plan was

to pay them back. The other thing I knew I had to do, in order to pay off all my debt as

soon as possible, was live on a tight budget. I didn’t really know what that would look like

number-wise, but I knew I couldn’t continue to go out, drink, shop, travel, etc. while I had

the weight of this debt looming over me. So, without really knowing what I was going to

do with the numbers, I started tracking both my debt repayment and my spending in the

notebook, to try and stay accountable to my new commitments.

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A funny thing happened, after I tracked my spending for a few weeks: I noticed it made

me want to spend even less than I had set out to. After writing down “$2.91 on coffee”

at least five days each week, it became pretty clear that there were some simple ways I

could cut back. And as more time went on, I even found I would stop to pause in stores

and ask myself if I actually needed to buy what was in my hands. Do I really want to write

this down in my notebook? I wondered. If the answer was “no,” it meant I knew I didn’t

need it, so I didn’t buy it. I tracked my spending (and cut back on it, during the process)

for three months, then decided to find the averages of how much I was spending each

month so I could try to write my first budget with those numbers. (I’ll explain how you

can do all of this in the next section.) I wrote my first budget in November 2011, and I’ve

continued to track my spending and write monthly budgets ever since.

If you’re reading this, you’ve obviously visited my blog, which was the other tool that

helped me stay accountable throughout my debt repayment journey – but I still know I

wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t spent the first few months doing all of this by

hand. It’s one thing to punch “$2.91” into a spreadsheet, or into an app on your phone

or computer, but it’s quite another to write it down on paper over and over and over.

That simple action is what changed everything for me; it forced me to reflect, and then

it eventually helped me learn how to pause and question each purchase I was going to

make, before I made it. Before I started tracking my spending, I had never thought twice

about swiping for something. Sometimes I’d feel my gut instinct warn me that I shouldn’t

put anything else on my credit cards, but it was always overshadowed by the inner voice

that told me I would pay it off “one day”. Once I knew I had to write it down, I noticed the

number of transactions I performed each month went down, and I began to realize how

little I needed to get by and be happy.

When I first mapped out my debt repayment plan, I assumed it would take me three

years to pay off the full $28,000. However, by living at home for the first few months, and

sticking to my budget even after I moved out again, I managed to pay off $17,000 in the

first year alone. The closer I got to “debt zero,” as I called it, the more mindful I became

about each purchase I made. I knew I cared more about paying off my debt than I did

about upgrading my phone or going on a trip. The time during which I was maxed out

was the worst I’d ever felt about myself and my life – it scarred me – and I wanted to get

as far away from that memory as I could, so I never had to relive it again. Buying more

stuff wasn’t going to help me reach my goal, so I learned to appreciate what I already

owned and kept moving forward with the plan. It took exactly two years but I made my

final debt repayment on May 21, 2013.

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Since then, I’ve continued to track my spending and write budgets. At the end of each

month, I compare how much I budgeted for to how much I actually spent, see where I

went over or under, and adjust my budget accordingly for the next month. Doing this has

helped me figure out how I can cut back and save more, which is ultimately what helped

me move on to build up a $10,000 emergency fund and still travel as much as I can afford

to. By physically seeing where I was overspending still, though, it’s also what helped me

decide to toss 65% of my belongings and complete a yearlong shopping ban, which has

made me even more mindful of what I spend money on. (That’s a topic in and of itself,

which you can read about on my blog.)

Today, when I get paid, every dollar helps move me in the direction I want my financial

life to go. In fact, one of my paychecks covers all of my living expenses, while the other

paycheck goes directly into savings and also funds my travel goals; that means I’m living

on just half of my income, and using the rest to save and do what I love most. I don’t go

out and shop anymore, or consume and spend money simply for the sake of spending

money. And I’m never broke before my next payday. I’m not rolling in cash! But I’m never

left with $5 in my account, desperate for my next paycheck. I have full control of my

finances, now, and that brings a feeling of freedom unlike anything I could’ve imagined

when I was maxed out – and it all started when I began tracking my spending, doing

weekly and monthly check-ins with myself, and paying attention to how I felt about each

financial decision I made.

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At the beginning of each month, open the second PDF (“mindful-budgeting-templates.

pdf”) in this package and print off all 8 pages. That’s it. Well, that’s all you need from this

little package. After you print off the templates, it’s up to you to decide how to use them.

Here are my suggestions.

How to Use This Book

Starting on the 1st of each month, take a weekly spending sheet and write down

everything you buy, pay for, save or put towards debt. When you write down each

transaction, try to think of a general category you could put it under (e.g. groceries,

restaurant, gas, etc.). If you can’t think of a category, at first, at least write down what you

spent money on (e.g. toiletries, cleaning products, etc.).

You’ll also notice I’ve given you the option to circle either a “+” or “–” before each entry;

that’s simply in case you want to track how much money you bring in (regular paychecks,

side income, money from any items sold, etc.), as well as all the money that goes out.

There’s nowhere else in this package for you to add up these numbers, but I personally

like to remember which days I was paid and how much.

Tip from math class: Use pencil! These sheets are going to get messy.

At the end of each week, take a few minutes to review what you did with your money and

then answer the questions at the bottom of the sheet. I like to do this every Sunday (even

if it’s only the 2nd of the month), so I can reflect and get ready for the week ahead.

The best money you spent could be on anything, from something that made your life

easier to a meal you enjoyed. You could be proud of yourself for things like not giving

into an impulse purchase or for putting extra money in savings. And then it’s important

to set a goal for the week ahead, so you know what you’re working towards; this could

be as simple as trying to buy less takeout coffee, or as important as finally comparing

Weekly Spending

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your banking products against what else is available and seeing if it’s worth switching to

something new.

While it’s important to track your spending, it’s even more important to reflect on it.

I wouldn’t be where I am today, if I hadn’t posted weekly spending report after weekly

spending report on my blog. I’m sure they were boring for people to read, but I needed

to write down what I’d done with my money, how I felt about it and what I wanted to

work on next. It not only helped me cut out unnecessary spending from my budget, but

also figure out why I was spending money on certain things. Without that step, I honestly

don’t know what my finances would look like today.

Now, at the end of every week, add up the numbers in each individual category (i.e. all the

grocery items or restaurant items) and add them to the amounts in the “Actual” column of

your monthly budget. When you’re done, grab a clean sheet for the new week ahead.

For the first month, or even three months, I’d suggest ignoring the monthly budget template and just focusing on tracking your spending. It’s impossible to write a monthly budget, when you don’t know how much money you spend or where it all goes.

TIP:

Monthly Budget

I might regret typing this, because I’m sure it’ll be considered an old catchphrase soon,

but monthly budgets are my jam. I love writing them. And once you write a few for

yourself, I think you’ll start to like them, too.

The word “budget” seems to throw a lot of people off, and I get why: up until a few years

ago, I’d never written one before and had no idea where to start. It sounds like this thing

that’s going to restrict your spending, and control what you can and cannot do. The

reality is that a budget helps you do the most you can with the money you have – that’s it.

The first thing you need to know, before writing one, is that your financial life is full of

fixed and variable expenses.

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Month 1 + Month 2 + Month 3

$200 + $250 + $225

=

=

Number of Months

3

Average/Month

$225

Fixed expenses are things you have to pay for every month, and usually always cost the

same amount. Some examples include: rent/mortgage payments, insurance policies,

healthcare fees, car payments and even cell phone bills (if you don’t go over anything).

Your savings goals should also be fixed, so you always save at least a minimum amount

each month (but then strive to save more). Since you know how much these are going

to cost, I like to throw mine up at the top of my budget. So, go ahead and do that now.

Write down the names of all your fixed expenses then put their usual amount in the

corresponding “Budget” boxes.

Variable expenses are costs that fluctuate each month. Some examples include: groceries,

takeout food, gas, household items, clothing and gifts. Before I wrote my first monthly

budget, I tracked my spending for three months (like I told you to!), then added up the

amounts I spent in each category and divided the total by 3, to find the average amount I

spent each month.

For example, if I spent $200 on groceries in Month 1, $250 on groceries in Month 2 and

$225 on groceries in Month 3:

During those first three months, I spent an average of $225/month on groceries – so

that’s the number I would put into the “Budget” box of my monthly budget.

Do the same calculation I’ve included above for each of your variable expense categories.

If you only tracked your spending for two months, that’s ok - just swap out the “3” for

a “2” in the calculation. (You don’t need to calculate anything if you only tracked your

spending for one month. Simply write down how much you spent that month.) Once

you’ve written down all your variable expenses and amounts into their corresponding

“Budget” boxes, add it up to make sure the total isn’t more than how much you take

home each month – and that’s it!

You did it! You just wrote your first budget!

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Now, throughout the month, as you’re tracking your spending and doing your weekly

check-ins, you’re going to update the “Actual” amounts in your budget.

Remember: Use pencil!

Here’s where I’m going to beg (yes, beg!) you to please, please, please be kind to yourself.

If you see that you’re about to go over in one category, make note of it and then watch

your spending for the rest of the month. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone over

budget in various categories; it happens every single month! When I see it’s about to

happen, I look to make sure some of my other categories are under budget (this also

happens every month), so I know I’m not going to completely blow the whole thing. But

some months my budgets are full of red, I’ve gone over almost everything and have even

had to dip into savings. I’m not happy when that happens, but if you only takeaway one

piece of advice from this whole thing, I want it to be this: Don’t give up! Keep going!

Budgets are nothing more than a guide. They weren’t created to make you feel bad for

overspending or for not saving enough. Like I said earlier, a budget is simply a tool that

shows you how to do the most you can with the money you have – that’s it. Of course,

the goal is to spend less than you earn, but if you have a few bad months, don’t give up.

Look at your budget, ask yourself why you went over (bad spending habit, accepted too

many invites to nights out, birthday gift you forgot you’d have to buy, etc.) and just try

to learn from it. If you think there’s a chance you’ll spend a lot the next month, go ahead

and increase the numbers in some categories in your next budget! Just promise me you’ll

write that next budget. Don’t give up!

As you spend more time tracking your spending and writing monthly budgets, you might find that you want to cut out categories or create new ones. Do it! Do whatever you want. Your money is your own and no one can tell you what should be included in your budget. It’s part of the personal in personal finance.

TIP:

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After tracking your spending, adding up all the numbers, writing them into your budget

and seeing what’s leftover, you’ll know exactly where you stand financially – and that’s

amazing! But the most important thing you can do, at the end of each month, is reflect on

it all. Don’t just write things down based on how the numbers turned out; that’s what I did

for years, and it didn’t really get me anywhere. Instead, ask yourself if your budget was a

reflection of the direction you want your financial life to be going.

One of my philosophies is to finish each day by asking myself what the high was and

what the low was. With this template, think about what they were for your month as a

whole. I start with the low so I can get the negative talk out first.

Your lows could include going over budget, not paying down as much debt as you

wanted to or not saving as much as you wanted to – or even getting caught in a small

emergency where you had to dip into your savings. Write down what the lows were, as

well as how they made you feel; this is the first step to changing your financial habits.

Once they’re down on paper, forgive yourself and let them go. What’s done is done. Don’t

give up on the idea that you can take control of your financial future, just because you

had a bad month. Let it go.

Your highs, on the other hand, should be celebrated. Did you throw an extra $50 at

your debt? Cut back on spending? Track your spending every single day? Stick to your

budget? Or even find extra money to donate to a good cause? These are all huge wins,

and each one is a step in the right direction. When you’re done writing them all down,

please read them over and smile.

The best financial decision you made is another that needs to be celebrated. Here, you

can include one of the highs from your month, or you can write down something new. For

example, maybe you finally setup an appointment with a financial planner, after telling

yourself for months that you’d do it “one day”. Or maybe you opened a new investing

account or setup an automatic savings plan. Whatever it is, write it down and be proud of

yourself for making that decision.

The best money you spent can be taken from one of your weekly spending sheets, or it

can be something totally different. Sometimes, I think the best money I’ve spent is on my

internet at home or even my rent. When you appreciate all the little things that make your

life what it is, you start to feel grateful for it – and even happy to spend money on it.

Monthly Check-In

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And finally, think about what you want to work on next month. Based on everything else

you’ve written, the answer could be clear. Try not to just focus on a goal, but on changing

a financial habit (like spending too much or not always tracking your spending) or at least

analyzing your behaviors. Keep this in mind, as you print off another set of templates and

get ready for a new month.

Don’t look at this check-in sheet as homework. Think of it as a journal and really take your time filling it out. The deeper you can dig while reflecting, the more answers you’ll find and the bigger steps you’ll be able to make towards taking control of your financial future.

TIP:

As a bonus, I’ve included a blank monthly calendar. Throughout my debt repayment

journey, I used a calendar to keep track of three things: paydays, loan payment due dates

and anything I knew would cost a bit of money (like a birthday or a trip). By leaving it

blank, you can print it off at the beginning of each month and write down the dates, so

you can keep track of those same things along with anything else you want.

On the side, I’ve included a column where you can write down all your goals for the

month. Whatever you write in this space is up to you. If you have a few financial goals,

like you want to save an extra $100 or pay off a credit card, write it down! If you have a

few personal goals, write those down too. Or if you just want to leave some kind words to

yourself, to remind you that you’re in control of your money, all the better. (Actually yea,

do that one!)

Monthly Calendar

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Finally, if you’re having trouble determining what your goals are, I’ve created an exercise

for you to complete at the beginning of every new quarter (January, April, July and

October) or whenever it makes sense for you. It won’t take you long to complete - ten

minutes or less - and it can help you figure out how you can adjust your budget so it

aligns with your goals and values.

Align Your Budget

It’ll take time to find your own flow and build these financial templates into your routine.

You may not use them exactly how I’ve intended you to, and that’s ok! I’ve said it before

and I’ll say it again: personal finance is personal. Honestly, that’s one of the things I love

most about it. There’s no one right answer, and you can do whatever it takes to make

your finances work for you.

When you first open this package and print off these templates, my hope is you’ll focus

on tracking your spending, so you can identify some of your spending habits and see

if there’s any you want to change. Once you really get into the groove of budgeting,

though, I want you to constantly ask yourself: does my spending align with my goals and

my values? If the answer is “no”, keep adjusting your spending and your numbers until

the answer is “yes”.

You have all the tools in front of you now to take control of your financial future. Grab

a pencil and don’t be scared to make a mess of these pages. Nothing is perfect in life –

especially not our finances. But the beauty of this package is that you can print off new

sheets anytime you need them, and keep pushing yourself in the direction you want your

financial life to be going – one week at a time.

You’re Ready!