A BUDGET IS A PLAN, NOT A SACRIFICE
I absolutely LOVE having a budget, but when I first started talking about budgeting my personal finances with friends and family I received ALOT of raised eyebrows.
People seem to think that having a budget means you’re either broke or being tight, but for me, budgeting means HAVING A PLAN.
Having a plan for your money means you know you have your bills covered, sure, but for me, it also means prioritising where my hard earned cash goes so that I can focus it towards my other goals, not wonder where it all went at the end of the month!
By making the choice of where my money goes, I am not making a sacrifice. I gain comfort in the knowledge that my bills are covered, whilst choosing what to do with what is left over. Our goals and dreams may all be different, but the concept of choosing where your money goes, instead of wondering where it went remains the same.
Just because I have a budget, doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy my life, and I actually feel more empowered now knowing that my money is directed towards my desires than being accidentally frittered.
For example, my budget includes weekly fun money, a monthly treat myself fund, holiday sinking funds, a beauty pot, and a gym membership. These are things which are important to me, so I cut back in other areas of my budget instead so that I can still have these things and also save as much as possible to my long term goals (dream house / world travel / general FIRE)!
Sometimes having a budget is hard, and there may not always a lot of extra cash left over after paying bills, but depriving yourself for too long without putting some “‘me funds” aside can lead to burnout and cause slower or even backwards progress.
I will share in future posts on how I set my budget, and ways you can look at setting yours too!