Gain Financial Confidence While Taking Control of Your Budget

Confidence, something we all want. We see that uber successful person that just radiates with confidence and we wonder why we can't be like that too.Often times, we don't give ourselves enough credit when it comes to experiencing confidence and giving off the confident vibe. Chances are, we have all been there at one point or another in our lives.A time when we felt proud of ourselves, when we felt accomplished, when we felt confident. The only difference between someone that has it and someone that lacks it is choice. We have to choose to be confident in ourselves, our choices, and our outcomes.Decisions that we consider big or life changing are the ones that can cause us to feel the most self-doubt. I remember when my husband and I were on the hunt for our first home and I was questioning our every move.We had just had our first child and already had another one on the way so we were nervous about making a big commitment, but knew we wanted to purchase a home versus continue to rent.Throughout the process though, we knew what our budget was and we knew what our must haves were and we stuck to it until the end. By the time we closed on the house, I was feeling very confident in our decision.We had found the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood for our growing family, and we stayed within a budget that were comfortable with that wouldn't push us over the edge. It was a great feeling knowing that we had made the right decision.Now that we are homeowners and our family is continuing to grow, maintaining our budget it important. We are expecting baby number three this Summer! I can honestly say that I am so glad that we created a budget that worked for us and we stuck to it.We feel much more financially confident because we took the time to create a plan. Knowing that we have our finances under control and not having to worry about where we will come up with the money for things like doctor visit co-pays, new baby items, and extra-curricular activities for the kids really gives us peace of mind.Becoming financially comfortable is not impossible. In fact, there are some simple every day steps that we followed that can work for you too!-Find the budget platform that works best for you. For us, we created a budget spreadsheet and used online banking. We both have access to our account through the app on our smart phone and we can keep track of our spending. If you are more of a pen and paper kind of person, there are plenty of great, free templates that you can download in order to organize your budget.-Identify the necessities and then prioritize the other expenses. For us, we wanted to pay off our credit card debt so that we didn't have that weighing over us with our mortgage. We found that dining out was something we were doing way too often. We put that low on our priorities list, because it was something we could live without. The money saved went toward our credit card.-Create a savings. Even if you feel as though you do not have enough extra money to put aside for a savings account, keep in mind that every little bit counts. If your income vs expenses doesn't leave much wiggle room, saving even $10 or $20 per month can stretch a long way when it comes to creating your savings account.-Stick to it! Creating and following a budget takes time. You may not see the benefits right away, but you have to remember to focus more on the long term vs the short term.In order to focus on financial confidence, moving past worry and fear is the first step. SunTrust wants to motivate people to do just that. Take a step toward financial confidence with SunTrust and join the movement.

 

At SunTrust Bank their purpose is lighting the way to financial well-being. When you feel confident about your money, you can save for your goals and spend knowingly on what matters most to you.The onUp Movement is 1 million strong…and growing. onUp is about having the confidence to move forward one smart step at a time.Join now and start building your financial confidence today.Join the movement

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of SunTrust. The opinions and text are all mine.