Don’t Follow a Budget
The Problem with Budgets
It is repeated often how the word “budget” seems to cause people to react. The problem is that it brings up all kinds of negative emotions. Maybe it makes you think of a straight jacket because you think it will do nothing but restrict you. Maybe someone has used the concept of a budget before to try to control you. Maybe you have “tried a budget before and it never worked” so you have no incentive to try again. Maybe your budget is or has been unrealistic so when you apply it in realistic life, it falls apart. Maybe your budget is overcomplicated because someone loves spreadsheets and playing with numbers and likes to have a place for every possible variation. Maybe you don’t sit down and actually write/type anything down, it’s all in your head–in generalizations because no one could keep all the items in their minds. Maybe your budget doesn’t work because you have it planned out, but you don’t follow the plan as you live. If you decide $100 a month is your allotment for dining out but you spend $200 anyways, of course your budget won’t stay balanced.
The Biggest Problem
Each of these problems can be corrected, but the biggest problem with a budget is that we try to follow it instead of making it follow us. A budget is a tool. When we see a blank budget template, there are line items given for every possible scenario. But maybe I don’t pay gas because everything in my house is electric. Maybe I don’t receive alimony or child support. Maybe I don’t pay for child care or school expenses. We seem to grasp this concept, but somehow we feel that once it is “set up” it is unchangeable.
Don’t Follow a Budget, Make It Follow You
I have other tools I use in life, and they are at my disposal. I don’t do what my screwdriver tells me. If I need to pry something or pound something, I can use the screwdriver for that, not just for turning a screw. It is my tool. It is there to help me.
If you forget to put something into your budget, add it. If you are not using an item, take it out. If something in your budget is not working, CHANGE IT. If you don’t want to stick to $100 for dining out, change it to $200. You do have to get that $100 from somewhere. Maybe cut a few dollars from other categories that are less important to you, or pick up some extra hours to raise your income to accommodate it. But remember you are in control.
It’s YOUR budget. Make it work for you.
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