There are months when sticking to your budget seems very easy. There are also months when you manage to blow your budget even when you have been careful with your money.

一年中有几个月，把生活成本控制在预算之内还是很容易的。但还有几个月，即使你精打细算，最终还是超支了。

If you are working without an emergency fund, any unexpected¹ expenses like a medical bill can blow your budget at the beginning of the month.

如果你没有一笔应急资金，任何意想不到的开支（比如医疗费用）都可能在月初就超出你的预算。

It is stressful to realize that you are out of money and still have several days or even weeks until you get paid again.

当你意识到自己已经没钱了，而且还有几天甚至几周的时间才能拿到工资时，你会感到压力重重。

If you have blown your budget, you need to reduce the amount of money that you spend each day.

如果你的预算已经超支了，你需要减少每天的开销。

Depending on how tight your budget is, you may need to stop all spending completely.

这取决于你的预算有多紧张，有可能你需要完全停止所有支出。

You should bring your lunch from home and do everything you can to really reduce the amount that you spend on food.

你应该从家里带午餐，尽你所能来减少你在食物上的开支。

It is important to think about necessities² versus³ luxuries⁴ at this point. If it is a luxury⁵, then you need to skip it for the rest of the month.

这时候考虑必需品和奢侈品是很重要的。如果是奢侈品，那么你需要在这个月剩下的时间里跳过它。

You should even work on reducing the amount that you would normally⁶ spend on necessities. This can make a big difference in how long it takes you to recover from a financial mistake.

你甚至应该努力减少日常生活必需品的开支。这将会对你从财务错误中恢复过来的时间有很大的影响。

You may also want to consider selling some things to raise extra cash, taking on extra hours or picking up part-time work to cover the difference.

你也可以考虑卖掉一些东西来筹集额外的资金，加班或者兼职来弥补差额。

01 Should I Use a Credit⁷ Card?

我应该用信用卡吗？

This is a tricky⁸ situation. It is not a good idea to use a credit card, but if you are choosing between not eating at all for the rest of the month or using your credit card to buy groceries, then it is better to eat.

这是一个棘手的情况。使用信用卡并不是一个好主意，但是如果你要在这个月剩下的时间里选择完全不吃东西或者用信用卡购买食品杂货，最好还是选择吃东西吧。

However, this means that you are buying inexpensive items, you are not eating out and you are doing everything you can to reduce the amount that you are spending.

然而，这意味着你买的是便宜的东西，没有在外面吃饭，你正在尽一切努力减少你的消费。

You should not eat out on the credit card, and you should not be using it to go to the movies.

你不应该在外面用信用卡吃饭，也不应该用信用卡去看电影。

You do not need to wrack⁹ up big bills to travel for entertainment reasons when you are in this situation. You should also have a clear plan on how you are going to pay this off in the next month or two.

当你处于这种情况时，你不需要为了娱乐去旅行而花费大笔的钱。你还应该有一个明确的计划，你将如何在接下来的一两个月内还清这笔钱。

02 How Can I Stop This From Happening Again?

我如何阻止这种事情再次发生呢？

If you find yourself in a pattern where you consistently¹⁰ run out of money or blow your budget at the beginning of the month, you need to work to change your situation.

如果你发现自己在月初总是没有钱或花光预算，你需要努力改变现状。

If it is something like a car repair or an unexpected expense, then an emergency fund should solve your problem.

如果是修车或意外开支，那么应急基金应该能解决你的问题。

This allows you to cover the expense without affecting the rest of your budget.

这允许你在不影响你其余部分预算的情况下支付费用。

If you find this happening all of the time, you need to consider whether or not you have spending issues that you need to address.

如果你发现这种情况经常发生，你需要考虑一下是否有需要解决的消费问题。

You also need to consider if your budget is actually working. Often people who struggle this way do not have a budget at all.

你还需要考虑你的预算是否真的有效。通常这样挣扎的人根本没有预算。

03 Why Does My Budget Never Seem to Work?

为什么我的预算似乎从来没有起作用？

If you are having a hard time following your budget, you may be facing a few different issues.

如果你在预算上有困难，你可能会面临一些不同的问题。

The first thing you need to consider is if you set your budget categories at a realistic level.

你需要考虑的第一件事是你是否把预算类别设置在一个现实的水平。

When you first set up a budget you may arbitrarily¹¹ decide that you can get by with spending only $100.00 a week on food.

当你第一次制定预算时，你可能随随便便地就决定每周只花100美元买食物。

However, if up to this point you have been spending $200.00 a week, this is a big difference and you may not be able to do it.

然而，如果到目前为止你一周花了200美元，这是一个很大的差额，你可能无法做到。

You may want to try cutting back gradually until you reach your goal.

你可能想要尝试逐渐削减直到达到你的目标。

You may also be having a hard time tracking your expenses. This means that you are overspending in certain categories like entertainment and then you are out of money when it is time to buy groceries.

你可能也很难记录你的开销。这意味着你在某些领域如娱乐上花费过多，当你需要购买日用品的时候你就没钱了。

Finally, you may have an income issue where you simply do not make enough to cover your necessities or your lifestyle.

最后，你可能会有收入问题，你挣的钱不足以支付你的生活必需品或生活方式。

You will need to cut back your spending and work on raising your income.

你需要削减开支，还要努力提高你的收入。