For me, a budget is much like a diet. You start off motivated with a new plan and then it loses its luster and you are back off of it. Some call it yo-yo dieting, in this case, we will call it yo-yo budgeting.
Whether it is a diet or a budget, the general concept is to control calories or spending enabling you to lose weight or manage your money. One of the reasons so many diets fail is the initial excitement wears off and the process becomes too time consuming. This can also be true of a budget.
The important consideration is to find a budget that fits your time, interests, and lifestyle. Just like your diet has to include some of your favorite foods or you will start to binge, your budget can’t restrict your spending on your favorite products or activities. Both of these strategies set you up for failure in the long term.
As this is the money blog, I will focus more on finding a perfect budget for your family. Of course, the same philosophy can be used in finding the perfect diet as well. The best budget advice is to research a variety of techniques. Certainly perusing our budget category here at Families is one way to learn advice from others, plus you can also search the Internet, read books, or ask friends and family. What you are certain to learn is everyone’s budget style is as different as their diet!
As you accumulate different types of budgeting processes, start to think about your current money management systems. Even if you don’t have an official structure, you must have some process in place. Also think about how you organize other things in your life, your home, office, car, etc. This can be very telling about your ultimate budgeting style.
Some big picture questions to ask are:
Do I prefer to keep records on the computer? For example are you heavily into online banking, shopping on the web, communicating by email? If so, you may appreciate a budget software program.
Am I a filer? Do you have at least a hundred manila envelopes in your home, stuffed full with papers and documents? Then some type of envelope or filing budget would be ideal.
Am I a hoarder? Do you save everything? Stash it in a drawer? Take advantage of your natural tendency to hoard and start keeping all your receipts. Use these to formulate a budget plan.
Do I hate technology? If you still love to put pen to paper and avoid all modern conveniences, an old style paper budget may be the best for you.
Related Articles:
*The Dirty Word – Budget
*My Loves and Hates Around Budgeting
*Setting Up a Realistic Budget