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Don’t Just Set It and Forget It – A Budget Is a Plan
Are you making this mistake?
Are you following a budget that you created last year without making any changes or adjustments?
So many people approach a budget like they do a diet. They view it as a restriction of their money. Like counting calories, they count cents, and then feel deprived, stressed and like it's just too hard to be bothered.
A budget isn’t a diet. It’s a plan. It’s a means to track what you spend your money on so you can make better decisions.
For example, you may find that you spend $100 a month on coffee. When you realize this you may decide that you’d much rather spend that $100 on a nice evening out with a loved one. Or you’d much rather save that $100 each month and take a nice holiday at the end of the year. Or you may choose to forgo all of those and use the $100 a month to pay off the mortgage (or save for a home deposit!).
As a side note: an extra $100 a month on a 25 year, $350,000 mortgage with an interest rate of 3.99% will save you two years of payments and around $17,500 in interest - it's not a hard decision is it!
Armed with the information on you can control how you spend your money. And as your money, needs, and goals change so too should your budget. It’s not set in cement; it is, and is meant to be, a fluid, ever changing plan for your money.
For example, let’s say that you’re perfectly happy spending $100 a month on coffee. However, six months into the year you decide that you want to buy a new computer now your budget needs to change.
A quick look at where you spend your money will tell you that if you cut back on your coffee spending you can afford that new computer in a few months. That’s the power of a budget.
You have all the information you need to make the right financial decisions for you.
Are you following a budget that you created last year without making any changes or adjustments?
So many people approach a budget like they do a diet. They view it as a restriction of their money. Like counting calories, they count cents, and then feel deprived, stressed and like it's just too hard to be bothered.
A budget isn’t a diet. It’s a plan. It’s a means to track what you spend your money on so you can make better decisions.
For example, you may find that you spend $100 a month on coffee. When you realize this you may decide that you’d much rather spend that $100 on a nice evening out with a loved one. Or you’d much rather save that $100 each month and take a nice holiday at the end of the year. Or you may choose to forgo all of those and use the $100 a month to pay off the mortgage (or save for a home deposit!).
As a side note: an extra $100 a month on a 25 year, $350,000 mortgage with an interest rate of 3.99% will save you two years of payments and around $17,500 in interest - it's not a hard decision is it!
Armed with the information on you can control how you spend your money. And as your money, needs, and goals change so too should your budget. It’s not set in cement; it is, and is meant to be, a fluid, ever changing plan for your money.
For example, let’s say that you’re perfectly happy spending $100 a month on coffee. However, six months into the year you decide that you want to buy a new computer now your budget needs to change.
A quick look at where you spend your money will tell you that if you cut back on your coffee spending you can afford that new computer in a few months. That’s the power of a budget.
You have all the information you need to make the right financial decisions for you.