Why Doesn’t My Budget Work?
Have you ever asked yourself that question? I have! Many times, over the years in fact. The simple reason is that budgeting and our spending habits have changed dramatically over the years. How we pay for things, the types of bills we get, what we eat, and more is very different today than what it was 10+ years ago. As a result, some of us are in financial strife, yet it doesn’t have to be that way with a Spending Plan. Let me explain….
Before
Many years ago (like when I was a teenager with my first job), my budget was all over the place! Every single penny I earned seemed to get accounted for. Even when I got a pay rise, there was still nothing left, and I couldn’t seem to get ahead. In fact, I was always behind with my budget as I was constantly saving up for the things that I wanted and then changing my mind before I bought them! I was all over the place. At least in those days I wasn’t purchasing items and paying for them later as we do with credit cards today! Back in the day, if you wanted something, you had to save up for it and the shopkeeper wouldn’t give it to you unless you paid for it in full. Do you remember the satisfaction of saving up for your first “big item”? Be it, concert tickets, that fabulous new pair of shoes that you had seen in a shop window, or perhaps it was even your first car? Handing over the money (your hard-earned cash) was hard, as it was a large sum to us at the time, wasn’t it? But how satisfying was it when you knew the item was yours and that we didn’t owe any money to anyone, as a result of that purchase? It was all part of growing up, wasn’t it?
Now
These days, you can pretty much get what you want straight away, and our bank balance does NOT change. We just owe a little bit more on our credit card (i.e. debt). This makes it even more enticing to buy more stuff! We forget that we will have to pay for these items at some point in the future because it was so convenient to buy at the time.
How many times do we say in a shop “just hold on a minute, I need to check my budget” before committing to a “must-have” purchase? Never!
In the current climate, there are so many options to “buy now and pay later”, it is no wonder that our finances/savings seem to keep creeping away from us. We all have that urge to impulse spend every now and again, and that is okay! We are human after all. However, if that impulse buying turns out to be something you never really needed (or wanted) in the first place, then it can be an expensive experience. Not to mention detrimental to your day-to-day finances and budget.
Those future payments have got to come out of somewhere!
How many times have you said, “this will blow my budget” (but you didn’t even check) – then made the purchase anyway! It can all spiral out of control – often, in the blink of any eye.
Sometimes, you might even make a purchase and then NEVER EVER use it. Like a piece of clothing, gym equipment, or kitchen appliance (e.g. a sandwich toastie machine). These unused purchases reduce our bank balance and end up taking space in our lives.
The Solution
A Spending Plan is different to a budget as it will always tell you how much surplus you have available based on all of your current and existing obligations and commitments – now AND into the future. A Spending Plan can predict up to 10 years into the future and so you will know beforehand what you can commit to. Even with credit cards, buy now – pay later, interest-free credit, loans, mortgages, your cash and more…
Take for example Mrs S. Mrs S was a single mum of 3 children and was struggling to keep up with all of her bills. Constantly stressing about her finances and watching her paycheck vanish every fortnight, she was always overdrawn at the bank. She tried creating her own budget, which didn't work for her in the long run as unexpected bills kept popping up and destroying her savings account. This lead to her falling short on rent, groceries, and more...
Mrs S. signed up with Spending Made Easy to get a Spending Plan and after only a few short weeks she had grown her savings account by more than $1,200. She is ecstatic knowing that her funds are growing and that she has money in her bank account BEFORE she even gets paid! She is loving it and is now building up her savings account to amass enough for a home deposit to escape the rent trap.
In Summary
Budgets are old hat! The traditional style of budgeting is completely flawed by the latest “buy now, pay later” schemes and scenarios. No one in the shops is asking you for your current financial commitments and obligations BEFORE you walk out of their store with your shiny new items. They slap on the huge fees too, should you fall behind or forget a payment.
In fact, shopkeepers are trying to get you to buy more such as the famous saying “would you like fries with that”.
Buying, and buying more, may force you to not be able to pay your rent on time, or have beans on toast for a couple of weeks. That’s no fun! All that is needed is a bit of planning and a bit of forward-thinking. A Spending Plan does ALL of that for you! You don’t even need a calculator. Very soon you will be saying “my budget is OUT and my Spending Plan is IN!
We Can Help
If you want a Spending Plan that can help you, then please contact us to find out more. We will create a personalised, detailed Spending Plan, just for you!
You won’t regret it! You can book in here for a no-obligation chat.
For more information, check out www.spendingmadeeasy.com.au The testimonials speak for themselves…
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