SC ranks among worst states for sticking to budgets. Here’s how to improve

Budgeting is essential to surviving in today’s economy for many individuals, with every dollar saved going towards essential items, retirement, and investments.

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Many more Americans are finding ways to spend less of their paychecks than they were three months ago, according to an Aug. report from Ramsey Solutions, a personal finance company.

There has been an increasing shift toward people cooking at home, combining errands into fewer trips, looking for sales before buying something and waiting before making a purchase. But as costs for things like gas and groceries keep growing, it’s getting harder for people to save money, even with good budgeting habits.

Debt is another escalating issue that’s affecting millions of people. Household debt in the U.S. has reached $13.58 trillion in this year’s second quarter.

Escalating prices affect everyone; however, how well a person budgets can depend on where they live, according to a new study.

To find out where the best and worst budgeters are in the country, WalletHub, a personal finance company, ranked and analyzed all 50 states across a dozen metrics ranging from the average credit score to debt-to-income ratios to foreclosure rates.

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Here’s where people in South Carolina ranked, and why:

SC has the 7th-worst budgeters in the U.S.

Unfortunately for those who live in the Palmetto State, they were ranked the 7th-worst budgeters in the country, according to WalletHub’s ranking.

The group compared every state based on three key dimensions: 1) Spending and Debt, 2) Credit and 3) Savings. Data were sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, TransUnion, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and several others.

This is where SC ranked across the three key dimensions:

• Spending & debt rank: 50th
• Credit rank: 45th
• Savings rank: 37th

10 states with the worst budgeters

The following 10 states have the worst budgeters in the country. Nearly all of them are in the Southeast.

1. Mississippi
2. Louisiana
3. Arkansas
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. South Carolina
8. Nevada
9. West Virginia
10. New Mexico

Tips on how to budget

Sticking to a budget is easier said than done. There are a lot of factors that can go into budgeting, and an unexpected expense can derail it in an instant.

“If you don’t carefully plan out and track how much of your income you can dedicate toward each of your expenses and other financial priorities each month, it’s easy for frivolous spending to get out of hand and prevent you from saving money, investing or even keeping up with your bills,” said Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst.

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Here are five tips from WalletHub to do a better job at saving money:

• Create an emergency fund: Set aside a bit every month with the ultimate goal of having at least three to six months’ worth of expenses in reserve in case of an extended income disruption
• Rank your expenses: Prioritize the most important expenses over less essential ones
• Use the island approach: Separate your debt from your everyday expenses
• Use the “Avalanche” Method for Debt Payoff: You should pay the minimum on everything but the balance with the highest interest rate, to which you should allocate the rest of your monthly allotment until that balance is gone
• Don’t Neglect Any Part of Your Budget: Bills and other essential expenses should naturally come first. It’s also important to try to put at least a small amount of money toward saving and/or investing each month