Rich Girls’ Guide On How To Make A Budget In 2026
The information provided in this blog post on how to make a budget is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. The author of this post is not a professional financial advisor, and the content presented here is based solely on personal opinions, experiences, and research. This blog post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Please note that I only recommend products or services that I personally use and believe will add value to my readers.
If you’ve ever opened your bank account and immediately felt dread and the weight of financial stress, this post is for you!
I’ve been there, and I know just how defeating it can feel when you want more out of life but your finances feel like the thing holding you back.
Budgeting often feels overwhelming and overcomplicated, which makes it easy to fall off and feel like you’re constantly starting over.
In this post, I’m walking you through the Rich Girls’ Guide to creating a simple, realistic budget that supports your goals, reduces overwhelm, and allows your money to work for you.
Let’s dive in!
Know Your Numbers
Before you can learn how to make a budget, you need to know where you stand.
Log in to all of your bank accounts. Gather your bank and credit card statements. Look at your investment or retirement accounts (if you have them!).
How much do you have in each account? What is the balance on your credit cards, and how much do you have available?
Find what bills you have, when they are due, and how much they are.
This also includes yearly expenses, or random one-time expenses you know come up occasionally!
Use these FREE worksheets to help you find and organize your expenses.
I recommend listing your bills in order of when they are due! This will help you when you begin building your budget!
Also, if your bills are coming out of multiple accounts, make a designated bills account! (This was a GAME CHANGER for me!)
If you are ready to enter your rich girl era, you need to simplify your budget as much as possible! Simplifying and having one designated bill account will make it easier to focus on your goals and allow your money to work for you!
Knowing your numbers, also meaning knowing your debts, current or in collections.
With my free worksheets, there is a bills organizer and a separate debt organizer for this step!
If you are making payments toward your debts (credit cards, mortgage, student loans, car payments, loans from family members), your minimum payment should be listed in your bills organizer AND your debt organizer.
If you have debts in collections or debts that do not need to be paid at this time, it is still important to list them and know how much you truly owe.
While you are going through your accounts, it is also important to identify what your minimum income is and what your income streams are! We will go over this more in the next steps!
Knowing your numbers is KEY to creating a budget that will actually work for you, your life, and your goals. BE THOROUGH!
Identify Your Goals
If you are deciding to learn how to make a budget, it is probably because you already have some type of goal in mind…
And if not, and you are simply trying to better your finances, that’s great!
Are you wanting to pay off debt? Save for a vacation? Get ahead with your bills?
No matter what your goal is, having goals and a strong reason for why you are wanting to learn how to make a budget can help you stick to your budget when you aren’t feeling motivated.
And moving forward, you can personalize your budget to help you achieve your goals!
If you are unsure of what you want out of learning how to make a budget, I recommend doing a life audit!
BLOG POST: The Life Audit You Need For A Powerful New Year Reset
How To Make A Budget Blueprint
Now that you know your numbers and you’ve identified your goals, it’s time to bring it all together and create your Monthly Budget Blueprint.
Your budget blueprint is simply a snapshot of where you want your money to go for the month ahead.
Start by looking at your estimated total income for the month (or your minimum income if your pay varies)! Use this number as a guide for your budget when allocating funds to specific categories.
Look at the month ahead and identify any events, appointments, or plans that you need to budget for. Looking ahead helps you be more prepared and reduces overspending!
Next, list and fund your fixed expenses, such as your bills and minimum debt payments. (This is why I had you fill out your organizers first!)
From there, you’ll begin allocating money toward:
- Savings goals
- Extra debt payments
- Variable expenses like groceries, gas, and personal spending
These categories do not need to be ultra-specific! The goal of a budget blueprint isn’t to be restrictive; it’s to tell your money where to go before the month begins, so that you are the one in charge of your money.
Of course, your budget may change throughout the month; that is okay! We are simply making a guide for our money!
If this already feels a little overwhelming, you’re not alone. This is the exact point where most people either overcomplicate things or give up altogether.
That’s why I created Beginner’s Budget Blueprint.
Inside the course, I walk you step-by-step through building your monthly budget blueprint in a simple, realistic way. You’ll learn how to structure your budget around your income, your bills, and your goals, without feeling restricted or confused.
If you want help actually implementing this instead of trying to piece it together on your own, Beginner’s Budget Blueprint shows you exactly how to do it.
Set Automations
Once you have created your Monthly Budget Blueprint, you need to set automations!
Doing this takes the stress out of budgeting and ensures that everything is taken care of.
I already mentioned my favorite type of automation — having all of your bills come out of one account.
But there are other ways you can automate to simplify your life and reduce the stress of managing your finances…
Pay Yourself First!
Open a High-Yield Savings Account and automate a recurring deposit into it every time you get paid.
It doesn’t have to be huge; even $5 makes a difference and helps you build that saving muscle!
You can also do this for retirement or investment accounts!
Plus, you can make it even easier and have your job do this for you before you even get your paycheck!
Transfer The Same Amount To Your Bills Account Each Pay Period
You already know what your monthly bills amount is and how much you make per pay period.
Divide your monthly bills total by the number of pay periods you have per month.
This total is the amount you need to transfer into your bills account each pay period to ensure your account is funded for the next automation you set.
My husband and I started doing this years ago, and it has truly removed so much stress from our lives.
Set Your Bills To Autopay
This may be scary if you’ve experienced a lack of funds in the past and have been affected by a negative bank account balance when a bill was paid before you could deposit cash. I get it.
Autopay used to feel like my biggest enemy. But it’s not!
It’s actually a super helpful tool if you have a budget in place, you have a designated bills account, and if you deposit the same amount into it each pay period!
Most of the fear from autopay comes from not having enough in your account to cover your bills.
But with this designated account and your recurring deposits, you do not have to worry about whether or not the money is there.
Start with one bill if you need to. But I highly recommend setting as many bills as possible to autopay to reduce the mental load you have throughout the month and toward your finances!
Having your bills set to autopay helps you focus on other parts of your finances, like reaching your savings goal or paying off debt!
Rich girls automate things to make their lives easier and to focus on what matters to them.
Give Every Dollar A Job
When you get paid, you need to assign a job to every single dollar of your paycheck.
Rich girls know exactly how much money they make and where it’s going.
I go over this in depth in the Paycheck Planner lesson in Beginner’s Budget Blueprint.
You can also get my paycheck planner worksheet below:
Giving every dollar a job and knowing where your money is going does not have to be difficult; instead, it should be rather easy, especially when you already have your monthly budget as a guide!
Start with your paycheck total and identify how long this income needs to last until your next payday.
First, subtract your bills amount and automations from your paycheck total. (Make sure these actions have occurred!)
Then begin to break down the rest of your paycheck to ZERO.
Start with your variable expenses, such as gas, groceries, and dog food. These are normally the things you NEED to live on until you get paid again.
Next, it is time to fund any extra debt payments or savings goals. These include things you are saving for the short term or long term.
Lastly, your miscellaneous expenses, things like spending cash, random events, or dinners you are attending until you get paid again, etc.
These categories do not have to be very specific, but you do need to know where your money is going with each paycheck.
Doing it this way ensures that YOU are in charge of your finances and life!
Beginner’s Budget Blueprint shows you how to plan your paycheck, assign every dollar with intention, and create a budget that works for you and your life.
How To Make A Budget Tip #1: Build Habits
Budgets are not something you set and forget. And if you want to manage your finances to grow your wealth, you need to build habits like a rich girl.
You should create habits that work for you, but I recommend:
Checking Your Bank Accounts Daily
Logging in to your bak accounts every day can help reduce the anxiety you feel when you see your balances. It’s kind of like exposure therapy!
Tracking Your Transactions
Doing this helps you see if you are still in alignment with your budget and if you need to make any changes.
There are many more habits you can add to your routine, but when you are learning how to make a budget, these are the easiest and most important to start with!
How To Make A Budget Tip #2: Celebrate Milestones
When you are learning how to make a budget, celebrating your milestones, big or small, is essential to keeping your momentum!
Deciding to make a budget and stick to it is a huge accomplishment in itself! I’m proud of you for just making it this far in the post!
These milestones could be as small as sticking to your budget or spending less in a category than you planned. Or they could be as big as paying off a debt or reaching your savings goal!
Either way, celebrate these things!
Learning how to make a budget isn’t about being perfect or being restrictive, it’s about creating a system that supports you, your lifestyle, and your goals.
Managing your finances can be stressful, confusing, and overwhelming and oftentimes reading a blog post isn’t enough to ease those feelings.
That’s exactly why I created Beginner’s Budget Blueprint.
Instead of trying to figure everything out on your own, the course walks you step-by-step through:
- Overcoming your money beliefs
- Building your monthly budget blueprint
- Planning your paycheck so every dollar has a job
- Using zero-based budgeting in a realistic, repeatable way
- Creating a system that works with your income, bills, and lifestyle
If you’re tired of starting over every month, wondering where your money went, or feeling behind before the month even begins, this gives you the structure and clarity to finally feel in control of your finances.
BEGINNER'S BUDGET BLUEPRINT
Learn how to budget step-by-step with 4 modules, over 15 video lessons, a 40 page course workbook, + budgeting spreadsheet!
You don’t need a perfect budget, you just need a plan that works for your real life and I hope this post (and course) helps!
You got this!
