12 Reasons Why You Should Have a Budget

People often accuse Jason of being too rigid with his views about money. When he was still working for a bank, his friends often joked that he would one day become the bank CEO, retire a millionaire, and never live life to the fullest because he always took money very seriously.

Most of Jason’s friends spent their hard-earned money drinking and having fun while he squirreled away what little he earned and managed to build up a comfortable sum through the years. Now, these same people who made fun of him are now asking him how he managed. He told them it all started with having a budget.


And why budget? Well, here are 12 reasons why you should have one.

1. A budget is a guide that tells you whether you're going in the direction you want to be headed in financially. You may have goals and reams but if you don't set up guidelines for reaching them and you don't measure your progress, you may end up going so far in the wrong direction you can never make it back. Can you imagine the government or a major corporation operating without a budget? No, and neither should you.
2. A budget lets you control your money instead of your money controlling you.
3. A budget will tell you if you're living within your means. Before the widespread use of credit cards, you could tell if you were living within your means because you had money left over after paying all your bills. The use of credit cards has made this much less obvious. Many people don't realize they're living far beyond their means until they're knee deep in debt.
4. A budget can help you meet your savings goals. It includes a mechanism for setting aside money for savings and investments.
5. Following a realistic budget frees up spare cash so you can use your money on the things that really matter to you instead of frittering it away on things you don't even remember buying.
6. A budget helps your entire family focus on common goals.
7. A budget helps you prepare for emergencies or large or unanticipated expenses that might otherwise knock you for a loop financially.
8. A budget can improve your marriage. A good budget is not just a spending plan; it's a communication tool. Done right, a budget can bring the two of you closer together as you identify and work towards common goals and reduce arguments about money.
9. A budget reveals areas where you're spending too much money so you can refocus on your most important goals.
10. A budget can keep you out of debt or help you get out of debt.
11. A budget actually creates money for you to use on things that matter to you.
12. A budget helps you sleep better at night because you don't lie awake worrying about how you're going to make ends meet.


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