Call me crazy, but I have a budget and I like it! Budgets or budgeting often has a negative connotation. It is seen as something negative, boring and limiting. After having used it as an everyday tool for years, I see it as something positive and even freeing and here are some of the reasons why:
The Budget as a Guideline
Our budget is kind of a guideline, or “business plan” if you like. We know how much we spend, or are supposed to spend on everything, both the fixed and variable expenses. We know that this is how our income/ expenses are supposed to look at the end of each month, in order for us to live and do the thing we want to do – today and in the future.
The Budget as a mean of control
Because of the budget we know how pretty much how we spend our money and on what. That means that we are in charge and not the money. That also means that it is very seldom that we are not on top on things financially and that way manage to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
The budget as a help to live within our means
We cannot spend more than we make (or at least shouldn’t) and therefore the income is an important component when making the budget. That means that we know how much we can spend without going into the red and so it helps us to live within our means and not beyond it.
The budget as a help to spend our money where it matters
Spending time as well as money, has a lot to do with priorities and that is why we should spend them both where it matters the most, to us. When I know what I spend on and how much, it also gives me the possibility to see if it is spend in the right places, because otherwise it is just a shame and waste!
The Budget helps us sleep better at night
There were times in the past, where we worried a lot about money. Not only because we didn’t have enough, but also because we didn’t have control over our spending, didn’t have a plan for it and didn’t spend it in the right places. Today, even with a very uncertain way of life economically, that feeling of worry is something that we almost never experience. Knowing the situation and being in control makes it easier to take action, to be in charge and ultimately, to sleep better at night. And that is something that no money can buy!
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