We are now a week and a half into November of 2021. How did you enter November? Did you slide smoothly into it with a smile on your face?
Or did you have another rough transition where nails were bit wondering if you would have enough money to cover the beginning of month expenses before you got paid?
The former situation is definitely the one to strive for. It is more free from stress and worry. You can go about your business without having to second guess every spending decision. The latter though, you may want to do something about. I have a suggestion.
I suggest, nay strongly encourage, you to willfully decide to not spend a certain amount of money over the next few months. Let this money remain unspent basically forever. When you do this, the money remains in your account. It never leaves. By doing this you build a buffer. How much less stress would you feel between months if you had $500 or even $1000 perpetually sitting in your bank account?
When the beginning of the month comes around, expenses can be paid out of this buffer. The beautiful part is, if you stick to a budget well, since you already don't spend more than you make, as you get paid in the month, that buffer is replenished! By the end of the current month you are back to having that $500-$1000 buffer again, ready to hit the next month running!
Tell me, would that be worth the sacrifice?
I suspect you will find the answer is yes.