Why A Budget Should Not Be A Four-Letter Word

For many people (myself included several years ago), the word “budget” is a four-letter word. It means they’ll no longer be free to spend money however they want, or they will have to. change their lifestyle. The reality is, the budget provides freedom to spend money, within the parameters of your income. We would not be where we are today without a budget.

The Budget is the Big Picture

When we first got married, Stuart was constantly trying to schedule a “budget meeting” with me. And I avoided it like the plague. I didn’t want anything to do with it, because I felt like his budget was going to be shackles around my fun. I wouldn’t be able to spend money on the things I wanted anymore. The reality was, by not being on board with his financial plan, I was causing our family financial distress. He would pay the bills, and I would see the money in our account as available for me to spend on whatever I wanted. A few weeks later, or even just a few days later, the account would be overdrawn. I didn’t have the understanding to see the bigger picture, the long term plan for our finances.

Each dollar in our bank account already had a name, but I didn’t know about it. Once I got on board with the family budget, I learned the bigger picture with our finances. I was able to see that each dollar going in was already labeled, between groceries, utilities, and bank payments. Having a budget meeting, and understanding the budget, showed me the big picture for our finances. And once we got on the same page, I had the freedom of being able to spend money within the labels of the plan, knowing if I spent my personal money or my groceries, it would not be hurting our finances later on.

Short Term Pain

Many people close to us look at our lives from the outside, and believe we are “rich”. Family members and friends have said this to us many times. What they see, from the outside looking in, is a couple under thirty, consumer-debt free. They see where we are now, with the freedom to be generous with our friends and family, the freedom to take vacations, or buy things for ourselves. They do not see the struggle we had for the first several years of our financial journey. We lived on a grocery budget of $50 every two weeks, which included a meal plan of pasta and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We were a newly married couple, and budgeted $25 a month for date nights. Yes, just $25 for two to enjoy a night out together. To stay on budget, we would split an entree and order just waters to drink. After dinner, we picked up a $2 dessert from our grocery store bakery, and a $1.99 movie rental. We lived on less, so we could pay off our debt.

Long Term Gain

I know this phrase is cliche, but when it comes to finances and getting out of debt, it really is applicable! Short term pain does equate to long-term gains. We lived on less all those years ago, to get to where we are now. Our grocery budget is now $125 every two weeks, more than double what it was back then. We have a date night fun that, prior to 2020, allowed us to have dinner out together and a movie at the theater, multiple times a month. And we only split an entree if we want to! In addition to that, we have the budget to take our family out for meals for special occasions, or even just because. Our family and friends see the lifestyle that we have now and forget the struggle we experienced to get there.

The End Goal

Wherever you are in your financial journey, it’s important to remember the end-goal. For us, financial freedom was the end goal. Being consumer debt free, and having the freedom to spend money on the “extras” some day kept us motivated to stick to the budget. And believe me, if a spender like me can be on board with a budget, then anyone can do it! It takes determination, and focus on an ultimate end goal. But it is possible, and financial freedom is possible too!