3 Important Reasons You HAVE To Stick To Your Plan With Money
Budgeting can be considered an art form. No two people manage money in the exact same way because no to people are the same. There are always going to be different circumstances, jobs, expenses, etc. Thus, each of you will always have a different opinion on the needs of a budget. The point of it is that you have a plan, and you are working to make a difference in your financial health. However, you have to stick with it! If you are trying to watch your weight, you cannot pig out on junk food part of the time you are dieting. You have to stick with a plan of attack, or things begin to fail and fall apart.
1) You Are Wasting Time If You Do Not Stick With It
If you are like so many others out there who have struggled to get to a place of financial freedom or reduced financial stress, you understand the intense battle. It can be difficult to get to this place and it can cost a great deal of time, preparation, money, etc. Thus, the importance factor for you to continue such a journey should be immense. So, when you intentionally do something against the grain or out of the norm of your set plan, you are hurting yourself. Accidents happen, but doing something out of the plan because “you think you will be fine” can be very damaging. The amount of work you have set aside to get to where you are is a terrible thing to toss aside for a momentary detour from your set plan. Just don’t do it, it is not worth it!
2) You Confuse Yourself And Others
Before you build a house, you have blue prints to ensue everything is put where it needs to be. This helps you to understand what your house if going to look like, and it helps the builder have a clear understanding of what you want. However, when you suddenly make a change to the house yourself (not on the blueprints) things can get messy. The builder is trying to make sense of the change, and get confused because now everything isn’t lining up the way it should. This applies to your money and budget. If you make changes to how you manage your money on a whim, you will confuse yourself and potentially those who also work with the budget (i.e. a spouse). If you are going to make changes, make sure it is added to the plan properly.
3) You Lose Momentum And You Lose Money
Your hard work to get to a good place financially should not be slowed by interruptions. Again, emergencies happen, but you can control your own actions. If you choose to make poor decisions or mess with the plan impulsively, you are slowing your momentum to having a financially free lifestyle. You are also losing money. For example, if you have designated $100 for gas every month (using cash) and $120 for clothing, you shouldn’t mess with it. If you go and spend $80 out of the clothing for gas due to convenience (non-emergency) you may forget to fix it later, and you will spend the full $100 on gas. Thus, when there is an extreme need that same month to buy new clothes, you only have $40. The cycle may even continue when you pull from another account to pay for clothes. Don’t get stuck in this cycle!
Trust in the plan you have worked hard to create. I understand you may think you are different and this rule doesn’t apply to you. I can almost guarantee you will eventually screw up trying to mess with your budget in this manner.