Budgeting: The Good Dirty Word

Part One: No Budget, No Freedom

Photo by Firmbee.com on Unsplash

Everybody says they budget, but it’s mostly lip service. It’s a lie.

The thinking goes something like this -

Yeah, I keep a running balance in my mind. I know exactly how much we spend. I don’t need to have a written budget. I already know we just don’t make enough money for our size family.

But, in reality, most of us don’t have a clue that the very reason for our not having enough, and consequently living in ever-increasing debt, is the lack of a written budget.

If It's Not on Paper, It's Not a Budget

Think about it this way - What if your employer paid you based on what they think they have in the payroll account (if they even had one) but never looked at it? What if they ordered needed supplies but never checked to see if there was enough money to pay for them?

I actually worked (briefly) for a business like that. After several of my paychecks bounced, and the owner had to scramble to pay in cash, I caught on and moved on.

Most of us would never tolerate such shoddy business practices. Yet, we think nothing of running our family finances so haphazardly.

Thanks to expertly honed target marketing, families today are financially overextended - Vehicles with bigger payments than we can afford, bigger houses than we need, and more stuff than Walmart. And don’t forget all the “toys”- boats, campers, etc.

Nothing is off-limits. Amazon has changed the way we shop. For most, not in a positive way.

Everywhere we make purchases now offers its own branded visa or master card. They make it way too easy.

It’s just so convenient.

The subtle message in all this is that a budget is restrictive and enslaving.

“If you keep a budget, you can’t buy what you want,” we are constantly told. So, we believe it is true. Delayed gratification is like leprosy, to be avoided at all costs.

It’s the rare person that has not been affected by all this. I know I have. And to varying degrees, I’m sure most of you have as well.

Years of Wrong Think

You may be saying, Cork, I’m tired of living this way. Paycheck to paycheck, more month left at the end of the money, and no savings of any sort. But, what can I do about it now? I’m in my 30s, 40s, 50s, or even 60s.

I felt like this for years. Life was on auto-pilot. I did have some inclination not to accumulate debt because of the way I was brought up. My wife even more so.

That kept us from falling too deeply into that trap. But, we still ended up there for brief periods of time. Thankfully, not hopelessly.

No situation is hopeless, except in your mind …

The series I wrote on Personal Transformation focused on how we can escape “Comfortable Misery” by transforming the way we think.

You can catch up on those articles here:

Table of Contents: Personal Transformation Essays

We can change our situations but it must be deliberate. We must have a written plan to guide us.

It starts with the end in mind. Where do we want to be financially, spiritually, physically, etc? Then we can work out the steps to get there.

Today, there is a vast amount of information available to assist us: books, e-books, YouTube channels, and internet sites dedicated to a particular subject (just be careful as many exist simply to market a product).

A Game Plan = Freedom, not Restriction

Let’s say you were the coach of an NCAA Division I football team (Notice how cleverly I worked my Sooners into the article). No doubt your goal is to win a national championship or at least a division title.

How that is achieved is not left to chance. It’s not just in the coach’s head. There is a detailed written game plan, a practice strategy, and personal conduct rules. All the other coaches and the players are expected to be on board.

Every coach and player must execute their specific part for the plan to succeed. This takes discipline and personal sacrifice.

No one would see this as a restriction.

When the plan is followed, there is freedom to win games, conferences, and even national championships.

The players are freed to perform to their greatest potential. The coaches have the freedom to work on their specific areas of expertise.

When the plan is not followed, coaches get fired, players are benched, and the goal will not be accomplished. And, as we have seen all too many times, a player’s lack of personal discipline will end in tragedy and ruin.

Now, let’s apply that same strategy to our family finances.

How to Change Your Thinking

The first thing we must do is change the way we view budgeting.

Conventional thinking is that a budget is restrictive. We have a negative view of financial management or believe that it is too complicated.

James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits, points out that when we associate negative thoughts or results with a task, we tend not to do it. You can read the discussion series I wrote here:

Because of the constant messaging that budgets are restrictive, we don’t do it.

Clear makes the point that:

You can associate savings/budgeting with freedom rather than limitation if you realize one simple truth: living below your current means increases your future means. The money you save this month increases your purchasing power next month.

Living Like No One Else

Dave Ramsey said it this way:

If you live like no one else (today), you can live like no one else (tomorrow).

So, how do most people live today?

Totally enslaved by debt. All the while thinking they are free.

Thousands of dollars in mortgage and consumer debt, just to have all the stuff they think gives them freedom, has entrapped them in jobs they hate and lifestyles of comfortable misery, never fulfilling their deepest desires for personal achievement.

All because they refuse to become financially literate and “live like no one else”.

It is said that the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. By that standard, a lot of us could be classified as insane.

What about you? Is it time for you to get off that merry-go-round of life?

It is not as hard as you think. It takes three basic things:

• A change of mind

• A plan

• Discipline to work the plan

In the next post in this series, we will delve into the guts of a budget - what it is, what it isn’t, and how to do it.

Sounds basic I’m sure, but many have no clue.

You already may know some of this. But, if you’re like me, you might be surprised at what you don’t know.

So, stay tuned.

Until next time, friends …

Access the whole Personal Finance series here:

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As always, thank you so much for reading and supporting Life UnCorked. While you’re here, check out my creative writing ‘Stack: The Talking Pen, where you’ll find fiction & non-fiction short stories, serials, poetry, art, and a short memoir.