#5 – I buy what I want when I want it.
“I don’t want to be restricted. I live by the “I see, I want, I buy” budget.”
Reality – This quote came to me from a successful blogger. Of course it made me laugh, but it also made me want to drill deeper into his plans for the future. In Jim Miller’s World, a budget is nothing more than a cool way to make sure that you’re spending money on the things you love the most in the world. Budgets do not exist to limit spending, fun or life. That is one of the things that make my views very different from other so-called experts in this field.
#4 – I make a ton of money already.
“I save a good amount of money each month, have nice things and live a good life. Budgeting is for people who are in debt or don’t make much money.”
Reality – The more money you have, the more important a budget is. Do a Google search on “broke athletes” or “Lotto winner files bankruptcy” and you’ll get to meet hundreds of people who had a mountain of money and are now broke. If they had taken a few quick steps to setup a budget, they would still have their millions and, likely, many millions more. Those are extreme examples, but the fact remains that whether wealthy or struggling, you need a budget to connect you to your future goals and the only way to do that is by following a budget.
#3 – Budgeting takes too much time.
“I have an exceptionally busy life and do not have time to manage a budget.”
Reality – You can setup a budget in less than an hour today and then monitor it from your smart phone… all for free. No longer do you have to categorize or reconcile or even sit at a computer. Having a budget saves you time and anyone who says otherwise hasn’t read my articles. They’re also probably nearing eligibility for the senior discount at Denny’s.
#2 – I used to budget, but I stopped.
“Excel, reconciling, saving receipts, Quicken… those words alone make me want to die. I know how to budget, but much like my gym membership, my interest went away.”
Reality – Those words make me want to die too. If something is not fun, I will not do it for long. An awesome budget actually saves you time, costs no money, let’s you know how you’re doing via your phone and improves your life now and later. If your experience has been anything less awesome than this, join my email list below right now.
#1 – I just spend less than I earn.
“The magic formula is simply to spend less than I earn. I don’t need to become some nerdy budgetician to achieve this goal.”
Reality – This one scares me and I’ve heard smart people say it, but the variable that is totally missing from this oversimplification is planning. Spending less than you earn is a great system for avoiding debt, but it does not replace a budget nor does it help one achieve their financial goals 5 or 40 years from now. Spending less than you earn is good, but my goal is to be great.
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