Master Your Finances: A Weekly Money Routine for Financial Success

In this blog we'll show you how to create weekly financial habits that'll: 

• Help you keep mindful spending in check

• Reduce stress and increase confidence in managing your money

• Help you achieve your short-term and long-term financial goals

Why is a Weekly Money Routine Important?

A weekly money routine is like a fitness plan for your finances. It helps you stay disciplined, track your progress, and build lasting habits that will keep you financially fit. Over time, these small actions can lead to big financial wins—like paying off debt, saving for future goals, or simply living with less financial stress.

How to Create an Easy Spending Plan for Weekly Success

Managing your finances on a weekly basis doesn’t have to be complicated or cumbersome. The cornerstone of creating a weekly money routine is knowing where your money goes and making subtle adjustments. By doing so, you’ll develop new habits for achieving your financial goals.

Step 1: Plan Your Spending Each Week

Begin each week by visiting your financial goals and weekly budget. This brief moment of mindfulness sets the tone for intentional spending throughout the week.

• Prioritize Needs Over Wants: Outline essential expenses for the week, such as groceries or bills, and evaluate whether discretionary purchases are necessary.
   
  • What do I need to spend money on?
  • Are these expenses essential or optional?
  • How do they align with my budget and goals?
• Check Your Budget: Review your budget and confirm how much you can spend that week. 

Quick Tips to Stay on Track

• Use Budgeting Tools: Budgeting tools like Peach State’s ‘3 Practical Budget Templates that Actually Work!' can help you set monthly spending limits (which you can break down into a weekly plan) and track your purchases.
•  Set a Spending Limit: Based on your budget and needs for the week, allocate a set amount of money to spend each week.
• Stick to Cash or Debit Card: Paying with cash or a debit card makes you more mindful of your purchases because you can only spend what you have on hand. If you prefer using a debit card over cash, consider setting alerts for spending limits for daily expenses.

Step 2: Track Every Expense

Throughout the week, track the dollars you spend. This will help you see where your money is going and keeps you accountable.

• Save Receipts: Saving receipts helps you track how much you’ve spent and on what. Without receipts, the purchases you make become out of sight and out of mind.
• Go Digital: Use an app or spreadsheet to track your expenses. This provides an organized and automated way to record purchases.
• Use Pen and Paper: If you prefer pen and paper, you can jot down purchases in a small notebook.

Step 3: Reflect and Reset

Take a few minutes each week for a financial check in to review what went well and where you can improve. This habit reinforces positive behaviors and helps you adjust as needed. When you’re working toward something meaningful like paying off debt, saving for future goals, or simply living with less financial stress, keeping your goals front and center makes sticking to a weekly money routine much easier.

• Reset Your Budget: Review your spending to ensure it aligns with your daily plan and goals. If you overspent, plan to reduce spending the next day to stay balanced.
• Keep a Spending Journal: Reflection can help you realize how emotions such as stress, boredom, and others can affect your spending. Taking a few moments to recognize the "why" can help you make better decisions.
• Celebrate Wins: Did you stay under budget? Resist an impulse buy? Give yourself credit! Celebrate milestones with small, budget-friendly rewards.

Build Saving into Your Routine

Saving money should also be part of your weekly money routine and everyday finances. Set yourself up with a weekly savings habit to create an emergency buffer that protects your finances, your goals, and well-being.

• Set Aside a Cushion: Maintain a cushion of a few extra dollars in your Checking Account to cover unexpected costs.
• Round Up Purchases: Use Peach State’s Visa Round Up Program where every purchase you make with your Visa Debit Card will be rounded up to the nearest dollar and the excess funds are deposited into your Round Up Savings Account overnight.¹
• Save "Found Money": If you have money left over each week, consider putting it into a high-yield Savings Account or Money Market Account. This habit will help you create a financial safety net should an unexpected expense arise that you haven't been budgeted for.

Benefits of Creating a Weekly Money Routine with Peach State

Creating a weekly money routine doesn’t mean overhauling your life overnight. Start with one or two habits, like tracking expenses or regularly reviewing your budget, and build from there. The key is consistency – small, intentional actions every day can lead to big improvements in how you handle your money. Over time, these small changes will add up to a significant improvement in your financial health.

At Peach State, we’re here to help you build a healthy relationship with your money. From financial products and tools designed to help you reach your financial goals, to sharing educational resources that'll sharpen your financial skills, we can help you achieve financial success. Contact us today and start mastering your finances!

1 A separate club account will automatically be opened when signing up for and using the Visa Debit Card Round Up program.