WHO’S AFRAID OF BUDGETING?

 

Most people don’t like budgeting because it’s tedious, time consuming, and more so it connotes something negative. Like when you say I’m on a diet, it is as always equal to starving yourself. Or when you say I’m on a tight budget, it is as always equal to depriving yourself of the good life. And we hate it. We hate to punish ourselves. We normally reward ourselves for a good day’s job, and such hardwork deserves nothing but the best… great food, new clothes, fancy gadgets, and a new car. But, who says budgeting is negative? This is a classic example of viewing a glass either half full or half empty. You decide how you see things.

Most people fail to stick to a budget because they fail to pay themselves first. They fail to SAVE first. Trust me, if you’ll spend first, you’ll never have enough money to save. Similarly, you will never have enough money to spend either.

When you budget, people often think that they have less to spend. They think that they dont have enough money to spend, which makes the experience negative. For me, I think otherwise. Regularly, I keep 45% of my Take Home Pay for SAVINGS (you know yourself better, the percentage may vary, but keep it costant). My way of paying myself first. Money which I keep in a separate SAVINGS ACCOUNT for investing, when the right opportunity comes. Let’s just say, it’s my biggest expense.

Then, what happens to the remaining 55%? I SPEND IT. I pay my bills, I pay my rent, I pay for amortization, I buy things I like — things I need, and things I want. I spend it to my hearts content. Then when i reach the finish line, it’s over. Do I tap to my savings account if I want to buy more? NO. How can I tap on something already spent? (as I consider savings as an expense).

Trick your mind. Reward yourself with an automatic Savings. And reward yourself, by spending all the remaining amount to your hearts content. This way, you’ll see budgeting in a whole new perspective.

HIGH INFLATION CAN INCREASE YOUR WAIST SIZE

I must have heard or read it somewhere, but I think it’s true — high inflation can increase your waist size. Funny, but it’s true. Let me count the ways:

1. High gasoline price will discourage you to go out, and be some place else. Instead, you’ll get stuck in the house – eating, lying like a couch potato and watching tv/dvd all the time. It saves gas, it saves money from eating out and watching movies — ergo you have avoided spending. The contrary will argue that saving gas will allow people just to walk or take a bicycle. I don’t know what you’ll do, but with the hot and humid weather outside, I’d rather stay inside the house and watch Spiderman 3 in HBO for the nth time.

2. People will eat less often, but with big meals so that they dont have to eat snacks. Mostly high carbo food, to justify that they would have enough strength for the day. Yeah right.. you need 3 cups of rice, and all you need to do is sit in front of your PC and file papers all day. When you starve your body, the more it will store fat for the rainy days.

3. Now you decided to stay home, and just order out or have food delivered. Since you worry about spending too much, you opt for cheaper take outs like Jollibee or mcdo (wow, free plugging!). Have you tried eating mcdo everyday? — who would forget the “Super Size Me” documentary. I rest my case.

4. You’ll start trimming your monthly expenses — and the first things to go are those you dont usually need… gym membership and recreational activities. There goes all the fat-burning moments.

5. To lessen your trips to the grocery, you’ll buy more items in one trip to justify the cost. Trust me, the more food you store in your fridge and pantry, the more you’ll get tempted to eat. And as you spend more time inside your house, the more you’ll be tempted to eat.

Call me pessimistic, but reality bites.