Budgeting is a PRIVILEGE
When people think of budgets, usually the first thing that pops in to their minds are thoughts like:
👎Restrictions.
👎Being poor.
👎Saying no.
👎No fun.
👎No freedom.
These thoughts are what keep people from starting and sticking to a budget and they are doing themselves a HUGE disservice. A budget is simply a game plan or spending plan for your money. It’s laying out your income against your expenses, then assigning every dollar that you bring in to an expense item so that you know exactly where your money is going, you never unintentionally spend beyond your means, and you can maximize the use of your dollars. Sounds pretty awesome to me.
One of my favorite books as of late is one called Big Enough by Lee LeFever. This is an excellent book that I think every business owner should read. The author and his wife own a very successful media company that they have scaled to fit their ideal life, goals, and values.
In one chapter he talks about what he considers one of the best longer-term life hacks that they have discovered, affectionately called “The Monetorium”. How it works is that they decide on a goal that isn’t easily financially attainable, like to move to another city for few months or a home improvement project, and decide on a timeline. In that timeline they live the Monetorium which consists of three basic elements: 1) Doing without, 2) Maintaining what you have, 3) Reducing waste. Essentially what they are doing is scaling back their budget and lifestyle so that they can save the money they need to meet their goal.
Obviously this isn’t a new concept. What I love about it though is their attitude and perspective. They don’t view this as some kind of punishment on themselves that they have to slog through. As LeFever puts it: “The monetorium is a responsible and resourceful way to achieve the life we want.” They feel a true satisfaction in living more practically and mindfully.
My favorite part of it is that he acknowledges the fact that just having the ability to scale back and redirect funds means they have THE PRIVILEGE OF CHOICE. And so instead of feeling like they’re depriving themselves of the things they deserve and hating every minute of it, the mindset is more from a place of gratitude to even have the option to make small sacrifices to reach a goal. Not everyone has this kind of privilege. Wow.
I LOVE reframing budgeting this way. If you’re aiming for a goal, the goal itself is just as important as you enjoying the journey to get there. And your money is the tool that will provide you with the means to get to your goals. Gratitude and contentment with less are ways to give yourself a raise without having to work more hours. So when you’re putting your next monthly budget together (because I KNOW y’all are doing this, right?😉) try reframing your thoughts about budgeting to a place of gratitude for the ability to redirect your money to other areas.