When I ask a group of people what a budget means to them, the majority will say that it means they need to save and not spend money. And then the spenders will jump in a say how they know they spend too much and they’ll even go so far as to outline how they don’t want to drag down the savers into their “problem.”
Now, I’ll agree that spending can be a problem, but so can saving. You can check out an episode of HOARDERS and figure that out real quick!
So in this article, I want to outline what the whole point of a budget is and debunk a few myths as to what it’s not.
MYTHS
A budget means you can’t spend. – This is actually the complete opposite of what a budget means. It means you can’t spend outside of the money you bring in, true, but it also means that you have “spend” every single dollar BEFORE the month begins. A budget is spending, it’s just having a plan for where it’s going to be spent. That’s all.
Savers are better humans than spenders. – This is simply not true. There has to be a balance and a budget helps us to do just that. If we save everything, we can’t impact the economy or even give to those we want to.
It’s too restrictive. – Well, if you mean it’s too restrictive in the sense that you can’t go into debt or live outside your means, then yes, it’s restrictive. It’s so restrictive that it will keep debt collectors from calling and you potentially filing for bankruptcy. In light of that, I think we can all agree that restraint can and is a good thing when used correctly.
What a budget actually is
A budget is simply this: telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. That’s all a budget is so now you can throw those myths out the window and recognize that this is something we should all be doing, not only with our money, but with our time as well.
That’s something to think about.
The whole point
Now we get to the point of this article. The moment you’ve all been waiting for. I hope you weren’t expecting some grand paradigm shift or anything, because it’s really not anything like that. In fact, it’s quite simple as most wise things are.
The whole point of a budget is to allow you to prioritize your life and plan for your future. When we finally get a grasp on our money and tell it what to do, we can save, spend and give all we want. Of course, it has to be within our means like we mentioned above, but it gives us so much more freedom to make the choices we want to instead of feeling like our money is restricting us.
You see, the myths are really doing the opposite thing you think they are. A budget lifts your restrictions to spend and save how you want. And for those givers, it helps you plan how much you get to give while still planning for your future.
Having a budget can be the beginning of a whole new outlook on life. It could mean the difference between never getting to truly do what you want or having a solid plan for your goals and future. If you need help, the best place to be is on my email list.