Budgeting

Money management is about one thing: FREEDOM!

How often do you reach the end of the month and realize you spent the money you had planned to save? How often do you reach the end of the month and have no idea how much you spent?

If this sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. People ignore what’s going on with their money for a variety of different reasons — whether it’s because they don’t want to face it, don’t think they make enough for it to matter or think they can always deal with it later — whatever the reason, it’s just an excuse. And it’s holding you back more than you realize.

If you truly want to change your life, you must first change your mind.

No one actually likes the idea of budgeting — no one says oh I can’t wait to spend my weekend budgeting! 

In fact, the word budget has developed such a negative connotation that, for many people, has made the concept more intimidating than empowering.

And that’s what you have to change about your mindset in order to take control of your money.

Contrary to popular belief, budgeting isn’t actually about restricting yourself and never having fun — it’s about understanding your money, so you can make smarter choices in life. Regardless of how much you make, budgeting is the only way to take, and maintain, control of your life, because being in control of your money is the only way to be in control of your own choices.

Without any idea of how much you’re spending and what you’re spending on, you’re very likely wasting a lot of money that could be piling up in savings.

All too often, people who are making a decent salary can’t seem to get out of the vicious cycle of living paycheck to paycheck — typically because they simply aren’t paying attention. In fact, this is the case for 45% of Americans. And instead of taking a step back to get a grip on things, many people end up racking up big credit card debt just to maintain their current lifestyle — a lifestyle they simply cannot afford.

Bottom line: nothing is going to change until you decide to start paying attention. If you don’t, you will very easily reach a point when it prevents you from doing the things you want to do when you want to do them — and that’s not a pleasant situation to be in.

The good news, though, is that there’s one very easy solution to taking control of your money: budgeting.

And all that really means is understanding your cash flow — how much is coming in and going out — and then making adjustments to prioritize what’s important to you, both now and down the road.