Why Not to Budget

Our first budget worked. Eventually. Maybe it was the 10th version. The sheet of paper that it was written on was not, however, full of scratch-outs and erasures. That's because my wife insisted on a total rewrite each time.

It took that many attempts because we didn't really know what to expect. How much were the utility bills going to be in our new apartment? I don't know? $100? $500??? We also wanted to be realistic with the cash we allocated in our envelopes. Should we put less money in the clothing envelope to pay off debt faster, or should we allow ourselves more so we at least wouldn't look broke?

Rest assured, the process does get easier quickly. If you are truly determined to live by your budget, there are lots of people like us that will be very proud of you. And I hope you take pride in yourself as well, because it probably won't be long until you experience the dark side of budgeting.

What will happen to you may shock you. First -- making the budget will become easy, and you will actually be able to live by it and be very used to the limits that are placed on your money. It may be the first time in your adult life that you made a plan, set out goals, and made positive progress towards them. It will make you proud and happy, maybe even peaceful, inside...

Until you have to deal with your family and friends, who, incidentally, are not on a budget. "Why can't you come out to dinner at the expensive restaurant with us? Don't you love us anymore?" "We're going to the movies, and if you were a true friend, you would come, too. No, we're not renting a movie, or even going to the matinee. We're going at night because it costs more." "What is wrong with you?" "Are you happy?"

You will be doing lots of traveling during the first few months of following your budget. But don't worry. Guilt trips are free.

I made most of those questions up, but, "Are you happy?" was indeed asked of my wife a few months before we got married. She was explaining to someone that she did not want to go shopping because she didn't need anything and frankly, she couldn't afford to go. The question hurt her, mainly because of who asked it. It took her some time to get over, and now we are somewhat amused by it. But this brings up two points. First, she was happy. She was taking control of her life and she saw all the possibilities that she was opening up for her future. Second, the emotion and pain brought out with that question could have been enough for her to throw the budget out of the window. But she didn't, and I am proud of her for showing the toughness to stick with it.

In our case, our friends are still here, and our family is still here. Some of them have even been impressed by what we have done and tried it themselves. So it's not all bad.

Getting on a budget is scary because we don't want to give up anything. The decrees are all around us: "Enjoy your youth." "Live in the moment." "Be spontaneous." But we found that a budget does not have to go against any of this. We spend a lot of time outdoors; for instance, walking and jogging. Both are free, we get to spend time together and talk, and improve our health. There are lots of other examples of having fun without spending lots of money.

I prefer the quote: "Youth is wasted on the young." We have time on our side, and we fully intend to use it. To us, this means that we are cleaning up our messes (debts) quickly and not leaving them for us to take care of -- in much worse condition -- when we are older. Instead, we hope to take advantage of the time we have by enjoying the simple things in life...and we're satisfied to wait for the rewards of our labors because we're happy now.