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Kalyn Brooke

Simple Solutions to Manage Everyday Life

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The Beginner’s Guide to Budgeting Series

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This budgeting for beginners series will walk you through the process of creating your first budget, step-by-step. Also includes free printables!

Ditch expensive software and learn how to create a simple budget from scratch. This Beginner's Guide to Budgeting series will hold your hand along the way, and includes FREE printables! #budgetingtips #howtobudget #budgetinghacks #budgetingprintables #budgetingforbeginners


Welcome to the Beginner’s Guide to Budgeting Series! If you are just starting your financial journey, or just wanting to learn how to manage money better, I encourage you to follow along and try my personal {and simple!} budgeting system.

There’s no need to buy expensive software. In the following posts, you will learn how to start a budget completely from scratch, and each post includes free printables to help you along the way. All you need is a willing and can-do attitude!

Because I want this experience to be life changing, if you go through this series, and something isn’t quite clear, please email kalynbrooke{at}creativesavingsblog{dot}com with any questions, and I’ll help you out!

Part 1: Why You Need a Budget…Yes, YOU!

Part 2: How to Track Your Income

Part 3: How to Track Your Expenses

Part 4: Building Your First Budget

Part 5: Create Your Own Money Management System

Part 6: I Have A Budget, Now What?

Part 7: How to Budget on Irregular Income

Part 8: Taking Your Budget to the Next Level

Budgeting FAQ

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Comments

  1. Katie says

    March 2 at 8:15 pm

    So excited to read all the posts in this series!

    Reply
  2. lori says

    March 5 at 3:07 pm

    LOVE your blog! I’ve just recently closed a business and unfortunatly have some left-over debt hanging over my head. So excited to get this plan going! Can you tell me when you will post the next segment, “Setting up your budget”?

    Reply
    • Kalyn Brooke says

      March 6 at 9:47 pm

      Thank you, Lori! Closing a business is hard – I have done that before {at a loss, no less.} You will come out of it! As for the Setting Up Your Budget post, I have that scheduled for Wednesday, March 19th. 🙂

      Reply
  3. jennifer says

    December 2 at 5:46 pm

    Great ideas, the cost of eggs have skyrocketed in NY and since I bake often its been getting expensive. Love your ideas and website. Keep up the great posts.

    Reply
    • Kalyn Brooke says

      December 10 at 4:54 pm

      Thanks Jennifer. Eggs are crazy right now! Down here in FL all our dairy products seem to be getting more pricey too. Christmas cookies are going to be a touch more expensive to make this year for sure.

      Reply
  4. Genesis Steinline says

    December 17 at 11:20 pm

    Love the information I greatly appreciate it, do you happen to have a tracker on Google docs or sheets? I cannot afford excel.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Kalyn—a recovering perfectionist who nerds out about organizing systems, personal productivity, and helping you prioritize what matters over the pressure to do it all. I have a feeling we’re about to become the best of friends! Learn more >>

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👩‍💻 | I help value-driven women lead manageable + meaningful lives.
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Kalyn Brooke
My secret weapon to round up paper clutter: FILE F My secret weapon to round up paper clutter: FILE FOLDERS! 📁

I’m all for choosing specific organization categories (and I do have some) but if a paper doesn’t fit into any of them, I slip it into an Other Action Needed file and tackle that on Friday. I don’t always clear out that folder entirely, but I take action on what’s most important and leave the rest for when I have more time. 

Here’s what actions can look like:

✅ Signing and sending important paperwork
✅ Scanning things to save... like kids artwork or course notes. I upload my documents into @notionhq. You could also use Evernote. 
✅ Adding printed recipes to your recipe binder
✅ Signing up for that loyalty program a cashier gave you information about
✅ Transferring coupons from the folder to your car

...and so much more! 

Could you take action right away instead of throwing them in a folder? 

Sure. But if it would distract you from your current task, it’s best to save them all for a time when you can batch process them all. We’re about efficiency here. 😉

So if you currently struggle with paper that spreads like wildfire across flat surfaces, I guarantee you’ll feel instant relief once they are all rounded up inside a cute folder and equally cute label. 🥰
I used to feel guilty for reading fiction novels. I used to feel guilty for reading fiction novels. 😔⁣
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Once in high school, someone told me that I needed to expand my world through real stories and information instead of reading all that fluff. 🥴⁣
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I understand the point they were trying to make. If you want to learn how to do something or get to know historical figures or grow personally in a positive way, non-fiction will help you get there. ⁣
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But fiction matters too... for so many reasons! Here are my three: 📚⁣
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1. Fiction helps me practice empathy. I see the world with new eyes because of the way the author invites me to step into the shoes of a beloved character. 🥰⁣
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2. With fiction, you can live thousands of lives. George R.R. Martin said, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” Fiction allows me to enter a world I don’t get to experience in real life. 💗⁣
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3. Fiction helps me write better non-fiction. When we hear a well-told story, our brain reacts as if we are experiencing the story ourselves. So when I read a particularly captivating passage, it gives me ideas on how to weave storytelling into my writing too. 💪⁣
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I’d love to hear why you think fiction matters. Comment below and tell me one of your favorite things about reading fiction!⁣
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And if you love books just as much as I do, I invite you to follow my new bookstagram account @theunclutteredbookshelf where we can talk about books ALL the time. 🤩
STORAGE IDEA… for paint swatches! ☝ Keep and l STORAGE IDEA… for paint swatches! ☝ Keep and label the colors you use, then tuck them away in a small envelope for reference. ⁣
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Whenever I go searching for a new rug or pillows, I grab this envelope so I  have ALL my paint colors on hand.  I can match the colors seamlessly without trying to guess if the blue on my walls trends more blue than green. 🤔⁣
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Another perk? You won’t spend an excessive amount of time in HomeGoods waffling between decorating decisions. Not that I’ve ever done that... 😆⁣
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#tipoftheday #tipsforlife #tipsfordays #lifehack #lifehacks #lifehacker #lifehacking #helpfultips #helpfultip #helpfulhint #helpfuladvice #helpfulinfo #whydidntithinkofthat #whydidntithinkofthis #whydidntithinkofthissooner #whydidntithinkofthisbefore #darlingmovement #darlingweekend #pursuepretty #petitejoys #livethelittlethings #morningslikethese #livecolorfully #abmlifeissweet #abmhappylife #dshappy #myunicornlife #livebeautifully #nothingisordinary_ #theeverygirl
‘Tis the season for spring-cleaning your home … and your finances! 💸⁣
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While most of us use the spring season to deep clean spaces we might otherwise forget (or ignore—fan blades, I’m talking to you), let’s not forget how necessary it is to do a financial check-in too. 💰⁣
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If it’s been a while since you last overhauled your budget, updated your savings goals, etc., not to worry. I have just the thing to give your finances a fresh start! 🥳⁣
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On the blog this week, I’ve listed 7 essential steps to help you clear out the cobwebs. Don’t be intimidated—I promise it will be fun! And once you have these systems in place, you’ll enjoy less stress during the rest of the year. ⁣
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Drop any cleaning emoji in the comments below and I’ll send you the link to get started. 🧹🧽 🧼
⚡NEWSFLASH:⚡ While there’s so much you could ⚡NEWSFLASH:⚡ While there’s so much you could be doing, there’s only a handful of things you can do at one time. 💪⁣
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The authors of the book The One Thing get this. ⁣
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If you’ve not yet read this book, here’s the main premise: 📣⁣
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Not everything can matter equally. If everything is important, then nothing is. And extraordinary results are directly determined by how you narrow your focus. ⁣
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In other words? Balance is nothing more than an illusion. 🔮⁣
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On the surface, balance sounds like an ideal destination, where every part of our life will magically fall into place and we’ll finally experience the peace and contentment we long for.⁣
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But balance prevents you from “going all in” on anything. Balance chains you to the middle so you can avoid the extremes of the right and left, never committing a significant amount of time to any one area of your life. If you approach anything with balance, each task will tug at you, claiming just as much importance as the next. ⚠⁣
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And equal approaches almost never result in equal outcomes. 🙅⁣
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So embrace being out of balance. Go “all in” on the things that are important to you and let the rest go. 👋⁣
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One of my favorite quotes from The One Thing is, “The key to success isn’t in all the things we do, but in the handful of things we do well.” 🥳⁣
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Think about what you want to do well and then leave what you can behind. And of course, grab the book if you’re able and add it to your reading stack. I have a feeling you’ll love it like I did! 💞⁣
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Have you read this book yet?
The discbound notebook is the BEST thing to happen The discbound notebook is the BEST thing to happen to bullet journaling. It’s true! 🤯⁣
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If you’ve never heard of this type of notebook before, it contains two covers (front and back) with your pages sandwiched in the middle. But the differentiating factor are the “discs” that hold everything together. 🥰⁣
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With a three-ring binder, you can’t fold the notebook back on itself. But with a discbound notebook, you CAN, which allows for easier writing. And you don’t have those annoying snaps of a three-ring binder either! Just pull the page off and then press it back down when you’re done. 😉⁣
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With a discbound notebook, you have the freedom to…⁣
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1️⃣ Rearrange pages however you wish and whenever you wish 💪⁣
2️⃣ Organize your planner into sections 🎉⁣
3️⃣ Use bullet journal printables to save time drawing layouts (this is the solution to the loudest objection I hear about bullet journaling) ⏰⁣
4️⃣ Throw away pages when you mess up (as opposed to ripping a page out of a bound notebook and risk the whole notebook falling apart) 😳⁣
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If you’re not satisfied with the 2021 planner you picked, try a discbound notebook ... bullet journal style. This week’s blog post dishes all the details on what you need to set one up along with a video on how I use mine! 📣⁣
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Drop a notebook emoji in the comments below if you want the link. 📒
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