There's that horrifying word. The one that makes so many people
cringe at it's very utterance. It seems like they could make a
very good spooky movie with the title "You Have To BUDGET!".
Yeah, that's a little dramatic but I have been helping people
with their personal finances for almost 30 years and it's not
too far off base. The word scares the daylights out of some
people.
You should see their faces when I tell them they are already
budgeting no matter whether they have anything written down
or not. It's a fact.
Whether you run your budget out of your wallet or on a printed
budget form you are still budgeting your money. The main
difference is that running your budget out of your wallet
doesn't have a plan or anyway to control your spending.
Maybe we should refer to managing our finances as a road
map instead of a budget. It doesn't sound quite as bad and
it identifies what you are doing more clearly.
Budgeting is exactly like taking a trip in your car. You
know where you are and where you want to go but you need a
road map to find out how to get there. You are simply
developing a plan or route if you prefer.
No one would even consider starting out on a trip to unfamiliar
places without a road map. Why would you consider managing
your money without a budget?
The reason most people give for not budgeting their money is
that it will deprive them of the things that they want. They
are right to a certain extent.
If they want something that they can't afford then, if they
are living by their budget, they won't be able to get it right
now. However, if they plan their budget correctly they will
eventually be able to get what they want and know that they
can afford it.
Almost all of the people that I have counseled over the years
either don't have a budget in place or wouldn't have any idea
of how to start one. This is one of the main reasons that so
many people are having serious financial problems.
Then you have the people that start a budget and within a
few days or weeks it's just sitting in a drawer somewhere.
Chances are that the budget they had was too difficult and
takes entirely too much time to manage. That's a big mistake.
A budget should be as simple as possible and take only a
few minutes on payday to manage. Sure, it does take some time
and effort to setup your budget properly but after that you
just sit down on payday, write out your bills, make a few
notations on your budget forms and do some filing. This is
what it takes to stick to a budget.
The best part about having a budget is that you will always
be able to answer the question we ask ourselves many times
in our lifetime, "Can I Afford That". You will have the
answer at your fingertips. Yep, sometimes the answer will
be NO!
About the Author
Terry Rigg is the author of Living Within Your Means - The Easy
Way http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/ebookadpage.html and editor
of The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter and Budget Stretcher
web site http://www.homemoneyhelp.com. He has 25 years of
experience counseling individuals and families concerning their
personal finances.