Four Monthly Routines That Keep Me Sane (and On Track!)

This morning, I took some time to close out our budget for the month. It’s a little routine I do at the start of each month, wrapping up the numbers from the previous month. While I was tallying up spending and categorizing expenses (with my favorite color-coded system), I started thinking about how many little routines I’ve developed around the end and beginning of the month.

These routines have become non-negotiables in my life—not because someone told me I should do them, but because they truly help me feel more organized, less overwhelmed, and aligned with my goals. And when life feels chaotic (which it does often, right?), I know I have these few things in place that bring me back to center and help me feel organized.

So today I thought I’d share the monthly routines I rely on—the ones that bring structure to the craziness of mom life, work, schedules, and everything in between.

1. Closing Out the Budget

Let’s start with the routine that inspired this post: closing out the budget.

Every few days throughout the month, I record our purchases, bills, and any deposits into my Budget by Paycheck workbook. I’ve been using this system for nearly four years now, and I don’t see myself changing it anytime soon. It works so well for our family.

Each spending category gets a specific color (yes, I color-code everything), and at the end of the month, I total up each category. That’s when I open up the Google spreadsheet I’ve been using for years and plug in the numbers.

Then, at the end of the year, I go over our totals and use that data to adjust savings goals and look at where we can cut back. My husband and I always sit down together to talk about what worked, what didn’t, and what we want to do differently moving forward.

This routine has helped us pay off our car, save for big home improvements, and pay cash for vacations and unexpected expenses. More than that, it gives us peace of mind. Having a plan, and being intentional with our money, takes a huge weight off our shoulders.

2. Monthly Dinner Planning

Towards the end of each month, I block off a bit of time to sit down with my Google Calendar, my cookbooks, and a running list of our favorite meals. Then I plan out our dinners for the entire next month using Google Tasks.

This sounds like a lot, but I promise it’s a huge time-saver. I don’t start from scratch every time—I keep a bank of our go-to meals, and I plug them into the calendar based on what we have going on that week.

One day a week is leftovers. One day is frozen pizza. (I believe in making it super easy some days.)

We keep breakfasts and lunches super simple and repeat the same things weekly, so the only thing I have to think about when it comes to grocery shopping is what dinners are on the plan that week. It cuts down on decision fatigue, saves money, and helps avoid that midweek “What the heck are we eating tonight?” stress.

Related Posts: Monthly Meal Planning in Under an Hour

3. Habit Tracking & Monthly Reflections

I’m someone who gets a lot of motivation from tracking progress—especially when I’m competing against myself.

So each month, I sit down and tally up the habits I’ve been working on. I use a tracker every day to record habits that support the goals I’ve set for myself—things like movement, hydration, early bedtime, or reading. Some are simple, some are more challenging. Either in the morning or before bed, I take a minute to fill it out.

At the end of the month, I total everything and enter the numbers into a Google spreadsheet. I also compare them to the previous month (because like I said—I’m a little competitive with myself), and at the end of the year, I look at the totals and ask myself some honest questions:

Did I stick with this habit?
Was it actually helping me?
Did I enjoy it, or was I just checking a box?

Sometimes the numbers are low, and that’s okay. It gives me a chance to reflect and decide—do I want to recommit to this habit? Or is it time to let it go?

This process has helped me stay consistent with habits that really matter to me, while letting go of the ones that don’t. And I’ve realized that accountability—especially with myself—is a huge part of why I follow through.

4. Swapping Out the Picture Table

This one’s a little different from the other routines—but it might be my favorite.

Every month, I change out the photos on our “picture table” in the living room.

There’s something really grounding about looking back on sweet memories and updating the table with pictures that match the season we’re in. For example, this month I have various family photo’s with the moms in our life for Mother’s Day. It makes me smile every time I walk by.

It’s a small act of intention that helps me stay present and grateful. If you want to learn more about my picture table (and why I think every home needs one), I actually wrote a whole blog post about it. You can find that here.

Why These Routines Matter

Let me be clear: my life isn’t perfectly organized. I forget things. I get overwhelmed. I have days where the routines fall apart.

But having a few anchor habits at the beginning and end of each month makes such a difference. They give me a chance to reset, refocus, and step into a new month with more clarity, structure, organization and less chaos.

These routines don’t take hours. Most of them take 20–30 minutes. But the impact they have is huge.

So if you’re feeling scattered, or you just want to feel a little more in control as the months roll by, I highly recommend choosing one of these routines to start with. Maybe it’s meal planning. Maybe it’s budget check-ins. Maybe it’s something totally different that speaks to your life right now.

Start small. Make it yours. And see how it feels.

If you have any beginning- or end-of-month routines that help you stay on track, I’d love to hear about them. Share them in the comments below!

**Before you leave, grab The “Type A” Moms Guide to Feel Organized + In Control of Your Time, for FREE. You’ll find it here.**