How To Stretch Every Dollar Without Sacrificing Joy

Marc Guberti

Fri, Jun 6, 2025, 7:01 AM 3 min read

Establishing a budget is an important step toward financial independence. You will get a better understanding of where your money goes and be more intentional with how you use every dollar.

However, some people give up on budgeting because of how rigid it can feel. In a recent YouTube video, financial guru Kate Kaden shared some of the strategies she uses to stretch each dollar she has while having fun with budgeting.

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Having fun with budgeting doesn’t mean spending money irresponsibly. Instead, it requires viewing budgeting from a different mindset while building toward exciting long-term financial goals.

According to CNBC, budgets can lead to a restrictive mindset and can be hard to stick to. However, Kaden recommended a more flexible approach and suggested having a different budget for each month of the year. “If you have a static budget … this is where I think people think budgeting doesn’t work,” she said.

It’s important to establish different budgets for each month around your bills. For instance, you may have an annual subscription that you have to pay every July. Therefore, it would make sense to have a different budget in June compared with your budget in July.

Some people may recognize that they spend more money in certain months and opt to spend less money during their less busy months. It’s well known that many people tend to spend the most during the holidays, so having a slow month or two right before the holiday season can give you more financial flexibility when you need it the most.

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Is that trip to the gas station going to cost $46? Round it up to $50. Kaden advocated for rounding up variable expenses when calculating how much you will have to pay. You always know how much your monthly subscription will cost, but things like gas and groceries have variable costs.

It’s better to overestimate your expenses than it is to underestimate your expenses, and this round-up method allows you to plan for higher costs. In a Ramsey Solutions article, money expert Rachel Cruze suggested the same, especially when you’re first starting to budget. She advised giving yourself some margin with things like groceries and eating out.

If you have any money left over, Kaden suggested putting it into a high-yield savings account, an emergency fund or a budget buffer. That’s a separate bank account from your emergency savings, and it lets you pay for additional costs if you exceed your budget.