I sat there watching NY Times Bestselling author David Bach in a recent interview and found myself nodding along in agreement.
He talked about how the very first thing to do when you decide to tackle your finances is to figure out your values.
Yes! Enthusiastic nodding from me.
The very first exercise we do in our budget workshop is help you spell out what your own personal values and priorities are.
So far, so good.
But then he said that you shouldn’t budget because budgets don’t work. He thinks they’re like diets, which people also hate and don’t stick to.
Ummm. No more nodding and insert stunned look with head tilted (the way a cat seems to look at you when it doesn’t understand what you’re saying).
Sure, diets don’t work but eating healthy does and healthy eating can take planning if it’s not a habit yet. Budgets (done right) are a plan for healthy spending.
If a budget is done incorrectly (or the way you’ve learned in the past), then I guess he’s right because they’re restrictive and depriving. There is a way to use budgeting as a tool to live out your values and goals all the while feeling free.
So maybe we don’t actually disagree but it’s simply that Mr. Bach has never created a budget with us! Someone feel free to invite him to our next “Creating a Budget You Love” Workshop stat 🙂
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