Like most posts, I've been meaning to write this one for a while and am just now getting around to it.
I could blame it on my kids, a crazy schedule lately, or just laziness.
But really, this post has been delayed because of fear.
Not fear that I won't be able to write the post, but fear that I will upset someone or make them not want to read my blog posts anymore.
And today I realized, I can't care about that if I want to share something. I have send my message out to the universe (thanks technology) and let people decide how they take it.
So here's the first post (of hopefully many) about finances.
And let me just say now, I don't judge any of you when it comes to handle your money or how you live your life; I just want to share important information in case it can help you or someone along the way.
So let's start this off by making one grand statement: YOU NEED A BUDGET!!!!
Yep, I said it. Everyone should have a budget and there are a few reasons why.
1) You should be able to tell your money where to go! Dave Ramsey (who I don't agree with all the time...so no this is not going to be a quick teaching of his books) even says "A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went."
2) A budget will help you spend/save your money more wisely.
3) A budget is a great starting point to set yourself up for success!
4) Budgeting and keeping track of your spending can actually be super helpful if someone gets access to your money (stolen credit card number, hacking bank account, etc). Trust me on this; we've been there....
Now let's talk about some of the reasons I've had people tell me they don't budget.
1) I make enough money that I don't need to pinch pennies. Guess what? There are millionaires out there that make budgets for their money. No one makes too much or too little to budget.
I think that a lot of people think of a budget as being a restrictive thing someone puts in place when they need to pay off debt or build their savings. While yes, budgets are a great tool for that; they are so much more than that. And they don't have to be super restrictive. That's the great thing about budgets; they are able to be personalized for your specific situation.
2) My income isn't predictable.
This comes up a lot, even in groups where everyone is focused on budgeting. I will say it is harder to make a budget when your income constantly changes, but there are still ways to budget with an unpredictable income. In this case, I personally would find my lowest month of income and base the budget off that. Because if you can live off that, you can live off any higher amount as well!
3) It's too much work.
I will agree that actually sitting down and making a budget is a lot of work in the beginning, but it is so so worth it! And keeping track of your spending each month is made even easier by apps and websites now. Heck, there are even apps that you can connect your bank account to so it can track your spending.
4) I'm scared to see the numbers because I know I am overspending.
If this is your reason for not budgeting, you need to sit down and make a budget TODAY! If you know you are overspending, a budget is going to help you! Now, that budget isn't going to stop you from overspending, but it will give you the tools to stop yourself from overspending. And it may take months for you to stop overspending (heck, we still overspend in two of our budget categories...I'll give a gold star to anyone that can figure them out...lol), but you have to start somewhere, right?
I could go on and on about this all day, but I'm pretty sure no one wants to sit here reading that, right?
And I'm going to repeat myself a bit here: I don't judge any of you when it comes to handle your money or how you live your life; I just want to share important information in case it can help you or someone along the way.
So if it helped you, I'm glad. If you read this and want to ignore it, I won't be upset; I promise. ;)
Okay, now I'm off to enjoy some of this nice sunshine outside with the family. Hope everyone has a great day!
-Danielle
I could blame it on my kids, a crazy schedule lately, or just laziness.
But really, this post has been delayed because of fear.
Not fear that I won't be able to write the post, but fear that I will upset someone or make them not want to read my blog posts anymore.
And today I realized, I can't care about that if I want to share something. I have send my message out to the universe (thanks technology) and let people decide how they take it.
So here's the first post (of hopefully many) about finances.
And let me just say now, I don't judge any of you when it comes to handle your money or how you live your life; I just want to share important information in case it can help you or someone along the way.
So let's start this off by making one grand statement: YOU NEED A BUDGET!!!!
Yep, I said it. Everyone should have a budget and there are a few reasons why.
1) You should be able to tell your money where to go! Dave Ramsey (who I don't agree with all the time...so no this is not going to be a quick teaching of his books) even says "A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went."
2) A budget will help you spend/save your money more wisely.
3) A budget is a great starting point to set yourself up for success!
4) Budgeting and keeping track of your spending can actually be super helpful if someone gets access to your money (stolen credit card number, hacking bank account, etc). Trust me on this; we've been there....
Now let's talk about some of the reasons I've had people tell me they don't budget.
1) I make enough money that I don't need to pinch pennies. Guess what? There are millionaires out there that make budgets for their money. No one makes too much or too little to budget.
I think that a lot of people think of a budget as being a restrictive thing someone puts in place when they need to pay off debt or build their savings. While yes, budgets are a great tool for that; they are so much more than that. And they don't have to be super restrictive. That's the great thing about budgets; they are able to be personalized for your specific situation.
2) My income isn't predictable.
This comes up a lot, even in groups where everyone is focused on budgeting. I will say it is harder to make a budget when your income constantly changes, but there are still ways to budget with an unpredictable income. In this case, I personally would find my lowest month of income and base the budget off that. Because if you can live off that, you can live off any higher amount as well!
3) It's too much work.
I will agree that actually sitting down and making a budget is a lot of work in the beginning, but it is so so worth it! And keeping track of your spending each month is made even easier by apps and websites now. Heck, there are even apps that you can connect your bank account to so it can track your spending.
4) I'm scared to see the numbers because I know I am overspending.
If this is your reason for not budgeting, you need to sit down and make a budget TODAY! If you know you are overspending, a budget is going to help you! Now, that budget isn't going to stop you from overspending, but it will give you the tools to stop yourself from overspending. And it may take months for you to stop overspending (heck, we still overspend in two of our budget categories...I'll give a gold star to anyone that can figure them out...lol), but you have to start somewhere, right?
I could go on and on about this all day, but I'm pretty sure no one wants to sit here reading that, right?
And I'm going to repeat myself a bit here: I don't judge any of you when it comes to handle your money or how you live your life; I just want to share important information in case it can help you or someone along the way.
So if it helped you, I'm glad. If you read this and want to ignore it, I won't be upset; I promise. ;)
Okay, now I'm off to enjoy some of this nice sunshine outside with the family. Hope everyone has a great day!
-Danielle
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