De-Bunking Your Budgeting Barriers.

If you don’t have a million dollars in your account right now, it is likely that you hate budgeting. It’s even more likely that you’re annoyed, even enraged, the moment the topic arises.  It’s an interesting phenomenon, we all want to be financially successful, yet this first step is often the hardest to overcome. People confide so many reasons why this is true for them.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. I know I don’t have the money to do what I want.
2. I’m a grown person, I don’t need anyone telling me what to do or where to spend my money.
3. Ugh, budgeting is painful and unrealistic – I don’t know what’s going to happen next weekend…

So… to be clear, all of these reasons, are not good reasons to avoid budgeting. Here’s why:

1. Budgeting Provides

One of the best reasons to start budgeting is unequivocally because you don’t have the money to do what you want to do. Budgeting allows you to:

• See where your money is currently going,
• Allocate money to life’s essentials (i.e., groceries, hydro, mortgage/rent, etc.),
• Make big plans with all of the leftover money (save for vacation, a new car, emergencies, a down payment on a home, and retirement),
• Change your habits. If you don’t have money for all of the big plans you have, don’t give up on it, just start smaller. Create as many “money pots” as you wish with the money you have left over after necessities. If you want to achieve your goals faster, you will either need to further change your habits, find a way to reduce your financial necessities, or increase your income.
• When you fully understand your financial situation, you will sleep much more peacefully than when you are uncertain how you will make it until your next pay cheque.

2. You’re The Boss

When creating your budget, remember, you’re the one creating it. No one is telling you how to allocate your money (except for maybe creditors and landlords). This isn’t your Mom’s budget. It’s not a crash diet that you give up on if you “go over” one month. But this is good news!

A budget is a realistic life plan that will breathe new achievements and successes into your life. Once you have your “money pots” set up, you will immediately start to feel a sense of accomplishment AND a sense of freedom. Far better than avoiding the problem of not knowing how you spend your money accompanied by a sense of being overwhelmed and unsure.

3. Planning = Fun

Whatever’s happening this weekend may, in truth, end up being over budget, for the interim. However, no one can fly by the seat of their pants forever. You already know this.

The great news is that once those “pots” are set-up, you determine how much you can reasonably spend each week on entertainment. Maybe you even set-up a “pot” to allow you some additional intermittent fun like attending an upcoming music festival or a quarterly weekend away.

As you watch your plan come to life and accumulate even a small amount of savings for emergencies and individual goals, I promise you will see the fun in it. Being successful is fun. That’s why it’s on everyone’s to-do list.

While at first budgeting might feel restrictive, tedious, and overtly boring. In the end, your whole life will flow from this simple plan. Rather than being a sleepless have not, could not – you can be a thriving did a lot!!

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Singer Olfert Financial Group is an independent financial planning firm that offers holistic advice to clients based on their current goals and future aspirations. We use well-established workflows and cutting edge technology to maximize financial efficiencies while simplifying the process for clients. Learn how you can maximize your financial opportunities at connectwealthp.wpengine.com