5 Myths about Budgeting that You may be Falling For

Clear up any misconceptions you have when it comes to money matters.

While it comes as a relief every time you receive your monthly salary, you might find that it feels impossible to make your money last. From the weekly gym-goers to the urban homemakers, it can get expensive maintaining the lifestyle you prefer. Many people don’t realize that after paying for their monthly bills, it’s a challenge to manage the money you actually spend on yourself and those you love.

Keeping a budget is the first step to staying financially healthy. By controlling how you spend your money—and how much of it you spend—you can develop a good relationship with your hard-earned money. So, why don’t more people do it? Perhaps it’s a time-consuming task? Or maybe you are not too confident in your computing skills to come up with a purchasing and expense plan for the month?

Here are five budgeting myths that may be holding you back.

1. Budgeting takes too much time.

The long-term benefits of keeping a budget far outweigh the minor inconvenience of planning. In fact, you might spend just an hour or two in the first month setting limits for how you spend. Afterwards, it takes even less time. Once your budgets are set, all you have to do is plug in your expenses under each one. You won’t even notice that budgeting takes any time at all once it becomes part of your lifestyle.

Saying that it takes too much time is an overstatement. Scrolling in your social media feed might even be longer than making a quick monthly budget. It might feel like it is a burden to do it every month but once you get the hang of it, budgeting will be an easy task considering that you’ll do it on a monthly basis at the most basic.

2. I don’t need to budget.

Even people who earn comfortable salaries stand to benefit from budgeting. It is not just about staying out of debt (though this is by and large a great effect of budgeting). What you’re doing when you budget is making sure that you have the right amounts of money to see to all the different parts of your life, from entertainment and shopping down to the quick trip to the grocery store. Also, budgeting is the easiest way to enjoy more and more money going into your savings—something everyone should prioritize.

Everyone needs to have a budget. Even for the well-off. It helps maximize your purchasing power and bring you the best out of life. A budget assists you in the best purchase capable your finances are, to not only buy the best product or service that you need but also help in making sure that the expense is worth the purchase and is beneficial for you and your family in the long run.

3. Budgets are restrictive.

Considering budgeting as restrictive is a false claim. It does not limit your power to purchase rather it makes it more reasonable. Making a budget also assures that whatever you may want to purchase, you can. It gives you a perspective on the how’s of getting your desired product or service. Budgeting serves as a tool rather than an obstruction.

Think of a budget as a plan for your lifestyle. We all have little things on which we enjoy spending each month. The difference when you have a budget is that you plan in advance for those very same things. What this creates is a better relationship with your money, one where you are in full control. Over time you will have a much better appreciation for those special purchases. Planning how you spend doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself.

4. You have to be good at math.

Many people choose to just ‘wing it’ with their expenses because the thought of computation scares them. The truth is, all you need to do is to make sure that your total spending is less than your total income. The math that is the most basic needed for budgeting is a simple addition and subtraction, taking into note the expenses made and the income coming in for the next cut off, then subtracting the needs and necessary expenses for the time being. You don’t need to be a math wizard to pull this off, it is a matter of fact, a simple addition and subtraction of what you need and what is not.

It’s that simple, and you can even start your budgeting journey from that premise alone. Ask yourself, how much money do I intend to save every month? From there it becomes a simple issue of working backwards.

5. It’s impossible to plan all of my expenses.

This is true, but only in the sense that there will always be unexpected spending. This doesn’t mean that all of your budgeting goes to waste every time you have to get your car battery changed. With a simple method in place to track how much you spend, you become better equipped to tackle the purchases you hadn’t planned for.

Set aside a miscellaneous budget every month, and treat it like a soft savings account; i.e., don’t spend it unless you really have to.

Budgeting is a very important aspect of managing and growing your family. It can either make or break your progress toward your life goals and your family goals. It is something that should be seriously practiced. Yes there will be times that the family might result to focusing their expenses on more important needs rather than what is popular or what is wanted, but parents must properly course to the family the importance of sticking to the budget and foregoing their wants now in order for the family to thrive and move forward for the week or even for the month.

With the right mindset, budgeting can be a rewarding and satisfying experience. It is always better to know about how you spend rather than look the other way. This is your first step to creating more financial freedom and health for the beautiful life you deserve. Create yours now.