Here’s my little Happy New Year gift to you. Each day in January, I’ll bring you a simple, concrete and easy to put in place tip to fuel your efforts to Save Money, Pay Off Debt, and Be Awesome this year. Looking for a quick plan? Well this might not to be the right place for you. Most things down well take time. But that doesn’t mean you can’t begin to implement systems in your life that will help you achieve your goals. I’ve said it many, many times before. Paying off debt isn’t complex. It’s just not easy. You have to punch the clock daily and do the hard work. Here’s another way to make that happen.
Day 6: Change Your Mind About Budgeting
Oh the budget. There was once a time when budget was the worst “b” word you could have thrown at me. I hated budgets. I hated the idea that anyone (including me) was going to tell me how I could spend, how much I could spend, when and where I could spend it.
Budgets were out to get me. They wanted to strip me of all fun. They wanted to rain on my parade. They wanted to zap the joy of life right out of my very soul. All of this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, budgets are what can free you from the stress and weight of managing your money so that there’s plenty of fun, parades, and joy to go around.
It took me a very long time to learn to alter my lens on budgeting. Until you do, you’ll never truly have success with the practice and discipline of budgeting. Budgeting isn’t a process of choking but of resuscitation, breathing life into your money.
I can’t sum up the process of budgeting in one post. There’s an entire chapter in Slaying the Debt Dragon devoted to just that and it’s quite possible that I could have written an entire book on budgeting. I will tell you that no matter how many great forms (Have you seen my FREE Printable Budget Forms?) or what software you own, if you don’t change your mind about budgeting, it will never ever work. You might get a modicum of success in the short term, but until you see the practice as one of release instead of restraint, you will continue to fail and hate budgeting.
There was once a time in my life when I rolled the dice at the grocery store checkout, wondering if we had enough money in the bank to cover the cost just rung up and placed in bags. While budgeting certainly takes effort and places stops in my life, the peace it yields far outweighs the uncertainty of not knowing.
Put on your big kid pants and begin to wade through the process if you don’t already budget. Realize that a budget isn’t a joy squelcher, but a joy bringer. Change your mind and your money will follow.
Have you missed other 31 Ways Posts? Check out:
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth in 2014: Plan Yo’ Meals
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth in 2014: Use CA$H
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth in 2014: Sell, Baby, Sell
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth in 2014: Stop It
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth in 2014: Introduction
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I’m so looking forward to sharing this month of challenge and inspiration with you. Together, we can show debt who’s boss and give it a swift kick in the teeth this January and throughout the year in 2014. Away we go!
Gain inspiration to pay off debt! Check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
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