I say this emphatically: Budgeting is not boring.
What makes budgeting boring for some people is that a lot of us don’t have the correct knowledge and experiences when it comes to budgeting. For example, if you went to a bowling alley and, because you had no idea how to bowl, every time you’d throw the bowling ball it would go in the gutter, then bowling would be pretty boring too right? It’s the same with budgeting. If you know the right way to do it, you gain positive experiences and budgeting can become fun. You see results (more money in your bank account) and this is definitely a fun thing!
What happens is that you start to feel accomplished in your new routine of living on a budget and the benefits that it entails. You may even look back at the “bad old days” when you used to spend your cash wildly and look back not too fondly! You take a look at those old bank statements and wonder where all the cash went.
What your new budget-conscious mindset will give you is new opportunities to do fun things in life without having to run over to the ATM machine every other day for a fresh infusion of cash into your wallet. Does frugal have to equal being bored? Not necessarily.
In order to get your new budget-conscious mindset right, I suggest you track your budget for the first few months. You can use either standard pen-and-paper or you can use any of the assortment of computer programs for this (Mint.com, Intuit Quicken, etc). After some time following your budget (again I recommend at least a couple of months writing everything down) you can think about dropping the written records and not having to write every expenditure down. The human mind takes a minimum of 30 days to get used to any new mental habit, so make sure you don’t give yourself any leeway during that first month or two to deviate from your planned budget! Once you get comfortable with your budget, you’ll be able to figure out how much you’re allowing yourself to spend on any particular category and how much you’ve already spent, all by heart. One of the big tips about fighting temptation during that first month is that whenever you feel an urge for something not budgeted (ex. new LCD television) remember what you’re saving for (ex. winter trip to Puerto Rico), imagine yourself doing that and walk away! Then replace that “urge” with something constructive (ex. watching the sports game at a friend’s house).
The bottom-line is that in order to budget effectively, you must have “budget-awareness”. This means you need to be aware of how commercial society influences people’s spending habits and you must fight these urges. A huge contributor to our materialistic culture is television – studies actually demonstrate that the more that a person watches television shows, usually the more that person will spend. Television constantly bombards the viewing public with messages of ultra-luxury beyond the grasp of the common middle-class, leaving the majority of people in debt trying to “catch up with the Joneses”. Even your friends and neighbors may affect your spending habits! Try to develop friendships with people also trying to build a debt-free frugal lifestyle in order to support your new ways. Remember that budgeting and frugal living doesn’t have to be forever – remember to reward yourself for your good work following your budget and reaching your goals!
