How do you manage to stick it out long term with budgeting? I use YNAB in periods for my economy. And every such period, they usually last 3 months to 1,5 year or so, my economy is in amazing condition.
Then I forget about if for a while, sometimes I find it a bit cumbersome and lose track. Suddenly I stop using it, and at that point I start splurging on stuff I really shouldn’t.
So then I start budgeting again… rinse and repeat. It’s a stupid cycle I’d like to get out of. Any tips and ideas, how do budget pros in here keep at it?
If you’re having trouble with abstract money discipline. Consider using cash.
There’s an envelope of methodology, you take your income, you put it in different envelopes for different budget items. When the envelope is empty you can’t spend anymore.
Don’t use credit cards, don’t use debt, don’t use debit cards, make sure all the money you spend is cash physical money that has to leave your hands.
The envelope methodology can be really helpful for people, cuz they can see how much money is left in the envelope, and they know when they need to stop. It’s very physical.
That would likely work quite well, unfortunately I live in Sweden and I kid you not when I say about 50% of establishments do not take cash.
Not all good being in a cashless society.
Hey that’s convenient! You can save 50% of your impulse shopping by just not being able to purchase anything.
I don’t know about the swedish economic system, but some systems allow prepaid debit cards kind of like gift cards but tied to a single person to be used. And that would kind of act like cash, load $100 on to it or whatever, and then when you burn through it you have to be deliberate about adding more money to it. Transactions declined is better than spending over.
Instead of looking ar it as an inconvenience, roleplay Jason Bourne, you’re hiding from the government surveillance state, how far can you go without tying your identity to purchases. It’s a fun game
Yeah, I think I remember reading that when paying cash the areas of the brain that register pain are activated in ways that paying with ‘convenient’ methods don’t.
Personally, I pay via credit card, and pay that off weekly—so I’m never caught off guard with how much I owe. Probably not the greatest thing in the world regarding a credit score, but it keeps me on top of my finances.
This may or may not be relevant to you, but I found I had a much better time with a budget when I “honestly” budgeted for my fun stuff, instead of trying to say it was all completely unnecessary and cutting it out.
I had somehow gotten an idea that if you have to track money, you gotta be “disciplined” and cut ALL the fun stuff away so you live like a monk. So, inevitably, I’d get stressed, I’d do something fun to cope with the stress, and then I’d fall into a spiral of shame and blame.
When I was older, I learned that if I looked at my “natural” spending habits honestly…for example, I like to buy books, music, and tea, so when I splurge it’s usually in one of those areas…and actually set aside some budget room for those, I’m less likely to go “over” my budget, and thus less likely to fall into a spiral of guilt and shame that makes me throw the entire budget out the window later on.
First you need to address your mental health
Hello,
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If your system becomes too vibrating then it’s not the right system for you. Try something that requires less upkeep and less detail
