The Real Goals of Keeping a Budget

For most of us, budgeting is not a natural character trait. We have a tendency to live beyond our means. We buy on impulse things we don't need. And we borrow money with our credit cards to pay for goods instead of paying in cash. These are some of the reasons so many families in the United States have a hard time making ends meet and instead are living paycheck to paycheck.

The reason we budget is so we can pay for our necessities but still live and enjoy a reasonably comfortable life. This means that if we're making $32,000 a year, we don't buy a million dollar home. Instead, we find a more suitably priced home in the nicest neighborhood that we can afford. If we are barely making enough to feed our family we don't splurge on a 56 inch flat screen plasma television. We conserve our money and buy a more modest TV.

No one likes to budget. But unless we are independently wealthy through inheritance, the lottery, hard work, or some other means - we are going to have to learn to take control of our money if you want to achieve any of your financial goals and dreams.

The main purpose of a budget is to keep you from spending too much money on things that you don't need. It can be so tempting when watching those late night infomercials and you see the Atomic Weed Destroyer that will kill all of the weeds from your garden with a single push of a button. You whip out your wallet, call the 800 number, and order it for the low, low payment of $19.95 a month for 3 months. A budget, if you follow it, will make you think twice before picking up that phone. Or maybe you go into a grocery store planning to spend $60 but instead come out with a $100 grocery bill. A budget, if you follow it, will make you stop and think before adding that extra item to the grocery cart.

A secondary purpose of a budget is to help you save money towards future acquisitions or future goals. For example, if your child, Johnny, is three years old and you want him to attend college, you'd better start planning and budgeting your money so that when he reaches 18, he has money for his tuition. Likewise, if you have just married and know that you want to buy a house in five years, now is the time to set aside a certain amount of money each month so that you have enough for a down payment in five years.

It may not seem obvious, but one of the biggest goals or dreams that a budget can help you to attain is financial independence. It's often said that 'It's not how much you make, but how much you save." And it's mostly true. We've all heard the stories of famous boxers and other entertainers who at the peak of their career raked in multi-million dollar paydays. But somehow, at the end of their career they ended up broke, on the streets, waiting tables, and so on. Did they not make enough money? Or did they simply fail to budget their money properly?

In the end, we all have the same basic money decisions to make as those famous celebrities did. Do we carelessly fritter away whatever monies we make and risk ending up destitute with no retirement security? Or do we take control of our money and our lives by creating a budget that will help us to make the most of what we have? To be blunt, most Americans make the wrong choice. Don't you make the wrong choice too.