So the "B" word can be frightening to most people and there's reason behind it. BUDGETING is a scary thing to do because not only does it mean you're getting older and wiser it means you are actually taking control and SEEING where your money is going each and every month. To make a budget work though takes hard work, determination and persistence.
Dave Ramsey recommends doing a new budget each month so that you actually have control. Think about it, if you did a budget for a whole year chances are it won't work because you forgot to budget for grannys birthday gift one month in your yearly budget, but sitting down and reworking your budget each and every month helps you to gain control over unexpected expenses that you might have forgotten about had you made a yearly budget.
Also budgeting each month helps keep up your motivation to get out of debt! If you budget for a year or even 6 months at time you tend to stuff it in a drawer and forget about it, kind of following it but yet still doing your own thing. Wasting away a dollar here and a dollar there. Whereas you budget monthly you stay motivated and strive to stick to that each month in hopes of making it through succesfully.
So how do you get up enough nerve to actually sit down and rewrite your budget each and every month? Or start a budget from scratch if you've never done one before? You tell yourself "I AM IN CHARGE NOW" You get determined and set a goal and you TAKE CONTROL! Just keep in mind that it typically takes an average of 3 months of budgeting for it to flow smoothly. So don't give up too easily, hang in there and it will work!
When you first start budgeting on a monthly basis it's a good idea to allow yourself a little room. You should however account for every dollar that comes in ... give each and every dollar a name and tell it where to go!! Be sure to allow yourself some blow money because even the people who don't make enough to cover their living expenses WILL blow a little money each month and if you're giving each dollar a name and telling it where to go and don't allow some blow money for yourself to buy a coke every now and then, or pick up a snack or whatever you want to use it on then you're budget WILL NOT work!
Also if you don't make enough to cover your living expenses, then first and foremost start looking for ways to up your income. Get a part time job delivering pizzas, sell stuff on ebay or craigslist, have a rummage sale... There are a number of ways for you to earn a little extra cash and each dollar you earn is a step closer to financial freedom! However, in the meantime while you try to dig yourself out of the hole you've created of debt, be sure when you are budgeting that you cover the 4 walls first ... HOUSING/UTILTIES, FOOD, TRANSPORTATION AND CLOTHING!
Think about this, you need shelter and you need running water and electric and gas there right? You need food to eat, you need tranportation and gas to get to work to make money and you need clothing! That's why it's the 4 walls ... the necessities of life!!
So quit being afraid of the "B" word and start doing it! It will work wonders for you and you will not only dig your way out of debt and take control of your finances, you will take control of your LIFE and gain complete satisifaction from doing so!
Check out Dave Ramsey's Free financial forms here for you to download: CLICK HERE
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Yeah, I've been budgeting since November 2006, and ya know... I can't imagine going back to NOT having a budget!
there are lots of reasons budgets are viewed as negative.one reason is because people have it in their head that its a bad thing. its not a bad thing, only the connotation of it is.people think of budgets as bread and water and live in a cave type of stuff. another reason is denial. if you start a budget, in their minds, its like saying the way they were handling money was ineffective. people are in denial that their current methods are wasteful and ineffective. that's why it usually takes a major crisis to get people to wake up and realize they need a budget to help. this is also where pride sets in. another reason is because budgets require discipline and in our culture that's like a dirty word. Hey, I'm not saying i like it either but to be the most efficient that is what is necessary.past generations that's all they knew because that's how families were raised and food on the table and a roof over their head and kids sent to school(see Great Depression Era). our culture does not require discipline to survive the way it used to because we live in the land of plenty. nowadays parents spoil kids rotten and don't discipline them like they should. so try and tell these kids when they grow up that they need discipline (a budget) and the response is very predictable. sure they might say budget is a good idea for others but they'd never actually do one. most people figure if you just make lots of money you don't need a budget."no need to worry where its going, just make so much that you don't need to worry about it" would be the common attitude. now for very very high income earners that have to focus on their career to make a good income,like many mid to high 6 figure income earners, that philosophy actually works(not the most efficient but it works) but for 99% of the rest of us that's a very foolish way of approaching your finances. Budgets really are telling your money what to do instead of wondering where it went.John Maxwell says that;he has it figured out.another reason is people associate budgets with tightwads, and they wouldn't want to be someone like that because they'd have to change their lifestyle. frankly there are too many spoiled little princesses and princes around that think happiness is taking your income and buying and doing everything you want right now and worry about later, later on.and when that's all spent then go and use other people money by borrowing so you can spend even more above your means. all this in anticipation of getting the money later so you can live a higher lifestyle now. and supposedly this is happiness. so to ask people who think like this to have a budget is like asking them to control their spending. Guess how well that will be received if they're not in dire straits. and to even think about asking them to invest or save or give as part of a budget, why that would be downright mean in their minds because they'd have to change their lifestyle. which requires discipline, letting go of pride, bringing your head down out of the clouds etc..these are big reasons why the B word is seen as such a bad thing.
Post a Comment