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1. Budgeting Without Guilt
Examining your Views about Budgeting
There is no doubt that budgeting is integral if you want to meet your personal
financial goals. For as long as you have a budget and stick to it, you know where
to allocate your money, track your spending, and immediately identify where the
holes are burning in your pocket and be able to do something about it before the
damage threatens to overwhelm you.
But creating a budget and sticking to it is not always that easy. Our attitude is one
of the reasons why doing something so essential for our financial success is
challenging. Many people equate budgeting with pinching pennies and
deprivation. Because of this, they don’t observe their budgets for long. Those
who haven’t budgeted before in their lives hear of this and are afraid to even
begin.
So before you start budgeting, review your feelings about it. If you hate the idea
then it’s time for you to do a mind shift. You see, part of the success of sticking to
a budget is believing wholeheartedly in it. If you don’t, you have already doomed
it to failure. Even if you have not succeeded at budgeting before, this does not
mean that you will fail again. Remember that this is a plan on how you will spend,
save, and invest your money. It is not spending your money first and thinking
later on where it went.
When you make budgeting a regular part of your weekly or monthly routine, you
will find it to be quite liberating. You will get to see your savings grow which will
further fuel your desire to continue observing it. It may be difficult at first but
you will soon find that you can’t do without a budget. But this has to start with a
positive mental attitude.
Reasons to Budget
Once you are ready to embrace budgeting as essential to reaching your personal
financial goals, you are one step closer to creating your budget. But first, let’s
understand why you need to budget in the first place. Here are the reasons why
creating a financial plan is an absolute must:
1. A budget puts you in control of your money. There is a reason why a budget
is also called a spending plan. It allows you to plan what you spend in advance.
Most of us handle money the other way around—we spend first and plan what’s
left. This is the reason why we get into a lot of debt and depend on our credit

2. cards for even the most basic necessities like food. The worst part of it is that
most of the time, we don’t think we have a debt problem until such time that the
debt has ballooned too much that we can’t pay even the bare minimums on our
credit cards required each month!
When you have a budget, however, you empower yourself. You direct where your
money goes. You control unnecessary spending without depriving yourself of
anything. On the contrary, you are able to provide for your needs because your
budget reflects what is truly important. A common example is eating out.
Without a budget, you probably won’t mind having restaurant dinners three
times a week. But if this costs you $30 for each meal then you’re spending $90 a
week which translates to $360 a month. If you cooked your own meals at home,
you wouldn’t even spend one-fourth of that amount! In fact, families allocate
$300 to $400 for their food consumption each month—including that occasional
restaurant treat.
2. A budget allows you to save for things that really matter. When you have a
budget, you categorize where your money goes. There is an allocation for food,
toiletries, utilities, and savings, just to name a few.
Without a plan, you simply buy whatever it is you fancy. You see a scarf or a bag,
you get it. You fancy pizza even if you just had dinner, you get it. While this may
give you some short-term gratification, you won’t be able to get those that have
lasting value—such as that dream house, that new car, or that grand trip to the
Bahamas you have been planning for ages.
3. A budget reduces financial stress. When you follow a budget, you won’t find
yourself in overwhelming debt. You won’t avoid the phone because you know it
won’t be a debt collector on the other end of the line. You won’t worry about the
electricity being cut off because you can pay your bills on time. You will have an
emergency fund set up so even if something unexpected comes up—a job loss or
sickness in the family—you won’t be put in a financial bind.
4. A budget secures you and your family’s future. This may seem so far-fetched
now when you’re still in your late twenties or early thirties. But if you make it a
habit of following a spending plan and putting money in savings and retirement
accounts and other investments, you won’t have to worry that you will depend
on your kids when you’re in the twilight years of your life. Moreover, you can
even leave them a fortune before you pass on to the next life.

3. 5. A budget prevents divorce. Okay, perhaps not totally. But did you know that
most separations are triggered by money problems? Couples usually start
arguing when there isn’t enough money to take care of the needs of the family.
Talking about money matters with your husband or wife and making sure that
you are on the same wavelength when it comes to allocating where your money
goes ensures that you are operating as a team. When you don’t have to argue
about finances, you have more energy to fix the other issues in your marriage.
Check out www.adamscapgroup.com for more Information on Money
Management Tips.
Other related info you might be interested in:
How to Dig Yourself Out of Credit Card Debt
How to Deal with Damaged Credit or No Credit History
Getting Financially Fit Before You Invest