Iknow. I know. You have made New Year’s resolutions before and they just didn’t work. You have tried budgets before and they just didn’t work. So “Why,” you are thinking, “would I want to start a new budget for the New Year?”
I challenge you to give it a new try. Millions of people successfully manage their money and you can too. Just avoid these pitfalls and you can win with your money this year and not fall victim to having your budget busted:
1. Leaving things out of your budget.
Many people try the yellow lined pad, write down what they think of at the moment, and expect it to work. Budgets need to include EVERYTHING, including an appropriate amount of “blow money”. Why? Because in real life we really do blow money.
2. Over complicating your budget.
Computer nerds: listen up. A workable budget isn’t a 10 page excel spreadsheet that you deliver from the mountain like Charlton Heston in “The Ten Commandments”. A workable budget needs to be simple. Especially if both husband and wife are trying to use the budget together. Make sure both have access and can make sense of what the other is doing.
3. You don’t actually do it.
Some people talk about budgeting and think about budgeting but never actually get paper and pencil out and write one. You’ll never finish what you don’t start. […]
