I Have a Budget

Day 225– I finally have a budget. I kept thinking for a long time that I have to create a budget and follow my expenses. The only way one can save money (if you she wasn’t lucky enough to have millions already) is by applying some discipline and the first step is to know what are my monthly expenses and so for the past month I wrote down every expense I had (give or take a few) and for the first time in years I have a clear picture. The second step is to create a table with expect vs. actual expenses for every one of the items I previously identified. Done!! The third step will be to look at my expenses and decide if there is anything I can or should change.  Early last week for example I realized that I spent no money on entertainment for 3 weeks, so I took care of it right away and went to 3 movies since then. I also realized that I spend a lot of money on coffee; there I can probably cut it a little without making me unhappy. In short it will enable me to align my expenses with my values and see where I am deviating and get back on track. And I have certain rules - It is mandatory to save at least 10%, give away 10% and spend on myself 10% of my income every month. I do save but I didn’t give to charity enough so I have to take care of that as well and as to treat myself– I had a lot catch-up to do here. When I started this project I was just thinking it will help me save money and no business can be run without a budget, I should run my household in the same manner. The idea is not to get cheap, on the contrary – the idea is to get focused and to use my money in a smarter way. And so today I finally added one more item to my “done” pile. I have a budget.

I am very thankful for this achievement; I am sure a lot of people will not understand why I have to be thankful for that, but it was a big struggle for me to get to this point. I truly resisted doing it and so I am very thankful for being able to face my demons and prevail. And of course I am thankful for achieving this monumental goal because now I will be able to save, to give to charity, to pamper myself, in short to live according to my philosophy and I have the tools needed to make sure it is done at all times.