Why We Hate Budgeting - But Shouldn't

After 15 years of studying, discussing, and writing about personal finance, I can say without a doubt that the most feared word in money management is "budget". Yes, it beats out audit, foreclosure, bankruptcy, default, IRS, and anything else I can think of. There's just something about budgeting that people hate. Heck, I even wrote a post about it (from an article I had published).

This piece from Crosswalk attempts to explain why people don't like to budget:

1. "I don’t know where to start!"

2. "I’m not a geek—money stuff confuses me!"

3. "Budgeting is such a downer—it’s such a negative thing to do!"

It then lists several of the benefits of budgeting, which they call a "personal financial freedom plan" (I've been known to call a "budget" a "spending plan"):

• No more creditors calling the house at all hours;
• Never having the waiter come back to the table to inform you that your credit card "is over its limit and didn’t clear;"
• Using cash in the bank to pay for a Hawaiian vacation;
• Never having to stall one creditor to pay another;
• Never regretting the gifts you bought for Christmas when the January bills arrive;
• Always having money on hand when a worthy need comes along;
• Never having another fight with your spouse over money issues.

The last two are the ones that really hit home for me. By managing our money correctly, we've gotten ourselves to a place where our needs are covered, we're able to address and emergencies that pop up, and we have plenty left over to give away. Better yet, we never fight about money and it's not a source of strife in our house. That peace is something that money can't buy.

For those of you who would like a bit more information on creating a budget, I mean "spending plan", I mean "personal financial freedom plan," check out these posts from Free Money Finance:

• Keep More Cash
• 4 Ways to Get Spending under Control
• MND: Why do Millionaires have Budgets?
• Three Ways to Track Your Spending

Comments

[Stock Mama]

Maybe I'm just a money geek, but I think budgeting is kind of fun. If I budget, then I know how much money I CAN spend on sundries, and I'm not worrying about, "Can I afford this? Should I buy this?"

[contrary1]

I think the negative connotation is from the word budget........I like your new names ....I think of mine as a financial plan for my life..a road map to get to where I want to go. Definately a good thing not a downer!

[Jesse]

I'm sick of all the flack the budget gets. It's the bedrock of all things financial. If your budget is on target, your money is on target. People just have a hard time facing the music of reality.

[Amanda]

Personally, NOT budgeting is much more scary to me!

[mel]

I love budgeting! Most of my budgeting is done in cash and some of my friends think I'm nuts. I have categories for blueberries (we buy and freeze 40 lbs a year) and the fair (5 bucks a month and we can go twice). I was standing in line at the fair last year and watched the families paying for their families. I said to my husband "how do people afford to go the fair?" Then I saw the we accept visa sign, and I realized that at $25.00 a child, most families are probably charging it on their credit cards. Even though budgeting can be challenging at first, I love to stand in line at the fair, cash in hand and know that I won't be paying for it next month when my visa statement comes.

[Phil]

I don't buget. Never have. I just pay all my bills on time. Save the rest in a bank account. I never buy on credit. If I need or want something. I buy it..providing I have the money for it. I tend to be a thrifty person. So if something seems expensive or out of my price range, I usually just do without it. This works well for me as I usually have enough in the bank to get what ever I want. I paid for my last vehicle straight up.... no loan. I've just never seen how a budget would be useful to someone like me.