It can be hard to get excited about staying true to your budget or even get started. There’s nothing fun or encouraging about clamping down on spending unless there’s a deeper why or goal to get and keep you going. I really don’t get excited about budgeting but rather what budgeting can do for my family.
Think about what a budget represents to you. Does it represent frustration and torment? Does it represent freedom and peace? Understanding what the goal of your budget is will get you going and keep you there for the long term. Coming up with a compelling reason to do a budget will change the way that you think about budgeting.
It’s not about hacks to get you to magically stick to a budget. It’s about understanding that it is life or death, in a sense, to your future. It’s about identifying your WHY for doing a budget and holding all parties, possibly husband and wife, accountable to working toward the WHY.
You’ll budget with success once you’ve figured out why you’re doing it and not because it’s just the thing to do. Before assigning any of the percentages to your budget categories or typing anything into a spreadsheet you should write down the reason or reasons that you’re budgeting.
Every time that you work on your budget you should review and recite your WHY for getting serious about your finances. It’s okay if your WHY changes but always keep it front and center to help you push through the times when you want to quit.
Don’t think about the numbers. Think about having no debt and an emergency fund in place so that you can start giving like you’ve always wanted to. Think about being able to vacation without the worry of paying the credit card bill later. Think about being able to pay cash for things and effectively invest for the future of your children.
Don’t be discouraged if you’ve tried budgeting before and quit. Give it another shot but don’t start until you know why you’re doing it. Don’t start until you and your spouse are on the same page with it. This will not work without some teamwork.
A budget is only a tool. It’s your mindset along with a well-crafted budget that will enable you to find success. It’s possible to find success with budgeting but you’ve got to get excited and serious about it.
If you’ve been able to budget with success then please share your reason and how you’ve been able to do it.
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2 replies to "Beyond the Budget – How to Budget With Success"
Great post. We love to start our budget process with the question of what do we want. A budget is a guide for what you can do rather than what you cannot. A budget is a way to have fun and save money so you can have even more fun! 😁
Thanks for the insight Debt Free Guys! I love how you’re helping folks get their finances in order. We’ve got to make budgeting fun or it won’t get done!