How to Stick to a Budget

Q: How do you stay on a budget? I have tried several times, and it never works. I’ll buy something on impulse or to take advantage of a sale, or friends will call and ask us to go out for dinner. My friends complain that I’m tight, but if I were so tight, I would have a lot more money in the bank. We are in our 40s, and I feel we are not where we should be at this stage in our lives. Plus, I am always thinking about money. How can I get a budget started and stick to it so we can finally see some savings?

A: Wouldn’t you like to stop thinking about money? Or at least when you do think about it, to feel calm and in control, confident that you have enough, that you’re making progress toward your goals and that you can handle any setbacks likely to come your way?

Managing your money well gives you the power to achieve what you really want in life while dialing back the anxiety that plagues people who live paycheck to paycheck.

Budgets tend to fail when people view them as an awful exercise in deprivation, instead of as a tool to help them stop wasting money on things they don’t really want so that they can get the things they do. Once you view your spending plan in this light, it’s easier to skip those sales and invitations.

You might want some inspirational reading. “Your Money or Your Life” by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin would be an excellent beginning. You might find David Bach’s “Start Late, Finish Rich” helpful as well. (Savings tip: Check these out at your local library or buy them used online.)

Let go of ideas about where you “should be” at this stage. You are where you are. Regrets about not having more, or being able to spend more, can lead you to chuck the whole idea of a budget.

You also may find it helpful to seek out a support group of people who are trying to get their finances under control. You might join an online forum, or the Simple Living Network at http://www.simpleliving.net can direct you to study groups in various cities that use “Your Money or Your Life” as their basic text.

You can do this. Good luck!

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