Guest Author - Rhonda Cliett

Why does a budget have such a bad connotation? We associate the word budget with words such as deprivation, sacrifice, torture and agony. If someone tells us they are going on a budget we instantly wonder what type of money problems they are experiencing. Have they had a decrease in income? Are they in some type of money trouble? After all, why else would they subject themselves to a budget if there weren’t some dire circumstance forcing them to do so?

The problem with budgeting is that we fail to see the big picture. We focus instead on the day-to-day sacrifices required to meet our budget. We get so caught up in the fact that we cannot have a daily Venti Caffe Vanilla Latte that we forget about anything else. We forget that small daily sacrifices will eventually allow us to reach our financial goals.

Changing the way we think of budgeting will make it a lot easier to stick to our budget. Think of budgeting as an art rather than as a painful sacrifice. Let’s compare it to the art of baking. To be successful at baking you must first gather the necessary equipment and ingredients, plan your baking projects, and practice, practice, practice. You may make a few less than optimal loaves of bread but eventually you get it right. Becoming a successful baker is not without a few sacrifices such as the sacrifice of time and the sacrifice of having to clean the kitchen more than you would if you just bought the bread from the bakery. If you focus on the sacrifices required to make you a good baker you might call it quits. Instead, you focus on the scrumptious loaves of golden bread that come out of your oven.

Budgeting is the same way. To be successful at budgeting you must first gather the necessary tools, plan your budget, and practice, practice, practice. Don’t call it quits just because it seems too difficult. Stick with it and recognize your daily successes as well as your long-term successess.

Here are some more tips to make the Art of Budgeting easier:

• Don’t totally deprive yourself. Budget a small amount monthly for an occasional treat.
  
• Use a financial journal to keep track of what you spend. Making yourself actually write down how you spend your money will force you to be completely honest with yourself.
  
• Keep your long range goals visible. If you are saving money for a new car then post a photo of the car where you can see it often.
  
• Find new ways to save money. Is it less expensive to subscribe to an online movie rental program than to rent movies locally?
  
• Don’t be too hard on yourself if you go over budget. You are going to make mistakes but you must move on and try again tomorrow. Eventually, you will realize that a lot of days have gone by without you going over budget.
  
• Keep track of your progress and reward yourself at various intervals such as when you pay off a certain credit card or when your savings account reaches a certain level.

Changing the way you think of budgeting will make it easier to stick to your budget. Remember to visualize the big picture rather than focus on the small day-to-day sacrifices.