What A Budget Is... And Is Not!
Guest Post by Ohh You Budget
I love having guest writers come in and share their thoughts on what budgeting means to them, and their own unique style. I am very excited to welcome my friend Deidre for this guest post on ‘What a Budget Is and Is Not’ to her.
Deidre the face behind Ohh You Budget.
Deidre has always been the go-to person for personal finance advice among her friends and family..
But it wasn’t always that way.
She graduated with a degree in business marketing and collected every debt along the way. Deidre made it her mission to educate herself out of debt into wealth, sharing her knowledge, experience, and her love for budgeting along the way. She wholeheartedly believes that the path to wealth and financial freedom starts at ground zero, and that’s with a budget.
What a budget is and is not
When you think of the word budget, what comes to mind?
Now, if you are someone who budgets successfully, you may have a list of words that are completely different from someone who doesn’t budget or has consistently fallen off their budget.
However, for the majority of people, the word budget is associated with the following words or phrases:
- Restrictive
- Control
- Limit
- Frugality
- Cutbacks
- Hard to do or understand
- Something you do when you make enough money
- Something poor people do
And the list goes on.
Simply put, budgeting is the act of telling your money what to do and where to go.
A more elaborate way of putting it is budgeting is the process of creating a plan to manage your income and expenses over a certain period of time, usually on a month-to-month basis. It involves setting financial goals, estimating your income, identifying and tracking your expenses, and making adjustments as needed, so you know what your money is doing.
What a budget is
A budget is:
- Having a plan for your money each month
- Putting a monetary amount towards your needs and wants (if you like Starbucks and can afford to enjoy it, put it in the budget)
- A way to spend freely within YOUR set guidelines
- Meant to be adjusted and tweaked (I encourage a fresh set of budgeted expense numbers for every month, i.e., just because you budgeted $400 on groceries last month doesn’t mean you have to budget $400 this month)
- Meant to help you reach your bigger financial goals
- Flexible and adaptable
Now that we know what budgeting is, let me tell you what budgeting is not, because I am guilty of once thinking this too.
What a budget is not
A budget is not:
- A ‘spend as little as I can’ plan
- Restrictive (if you feel it is, it’s because you are making it that way)
- For people who are poor
- A one size fits all (if one method isn’t working for you, try another method)
- Hard or difficult to grasp
- A one-time event
- Fixed/set in stone (it can be changed as many times as you would like)
- Just tracking your expenses (did you know you can still do a budget and not track every purchase you make?)
Overall, the purpose of budgeting is to help you make informed decisions about your finances, ensure that you have enough money to cover your necessary expenses, and make progress toward your long-term financial goals, like getting out of debt. A well-designed budget can also help you avoid overspending and reduce financial stress.,
So, now that we have reframed what budgeting is and is not, let’s put it into practice!
Follow @ohhyoubudget on Instagram and TikTok for more budgeting tips, and check out her Etsy shop for great budgeting tools.
Big thanks to Deidre for sharing her unique approach to budgeting!
She has graciously shared with Canadian Budget readers, a
FREE DEBT PAYOFF SPREADSHEET
to help you kick-start your budgeting, so be sure to download it today!
More from the blog...
How To Build Generational Wealth In 4…
How To Build Generational Wealth In 4 Steps Building generational wealth can feel impossible when dreaded financial struggles and living...
Read MoreHow to Calculate Retirement Savings…
How to Calculate Retirement Savings Needs in Canada With or Without a Pension When is a good time to calculate...
Read MoreThe S&P 500 Index Demystified: A Beginner’s…
The S&P 500 Index Demystified: A Beginner's Guide The most widely touted advice among financial influencers on the internet is...
Read MoreIs the 50 30 20…
This budgeting method, popularized by the book All Your Worth, divides your income into three categories: 50% for essentials, 30%...
Read MoreHotels.com Canada Plus 4 Of…
Learn how combining Hotels.com Canada with one of the 4 Best Travel Credit Cards can Supercharge your stay and make...
Read MoreFHSA Canada: Understanding the newest…
FHSA Canada: Understanding the newest tool for homeownership The FHSA in Canada is a new account for aspiring homeowners. Is it...
Read More3 Top Portfolio Visualizer Tools…
Investors have many tools to choose from when they want to learn about stocks, but what if you also wanted...
Read MoreThe Best No Fee Bank…
The Best No Fee Bank Accounts in Canada: Say Goodbye to Fees. When it comes to banking, nobody likes to...
Read MoreWhat is moomoo? The moomoo…
Moomoo Financial Canada is a trading platform where you can invest in the stock market. They started in 2018 in...
Read MoreWhat is a Defined Benefit…
What is a Defined Benefit Retirement Plan? Throughout your career search, you may come across some employers that offer a...
Read MoreAbout The Author
Deidre Cross - Ohh You Budget
Deidre, the face behind Ohh You Budget, has always been that go-to friend for personal finance advice. But it wasn’t always that way. She graduated with a degree in business marketing and collected every debt along the way, Deidre made it her mission to educate herself out of debt into wealth sharing her knowledge, experience, and her love for budgeting. Deidre wholeheartedly believes that the path to financial wealth and financial freedom starts are ground zero, and that’s with a budget.