Do you budget? Let me put it another way, do you know what a budget is? Well, it’s supposed to be a rhetoric question, but for many people like myself 5 years ago, it’s a specialized term used by finance professionals. In case you belong to this group, budget simply means a financial plan that can be made by anyone. Budget can be compiled at government agencies, multi-billion-dollar corporations, or just a little mom-and-pop grocery store. Not only for business, many individuals have used budget to help control their spending. So you grab a pencil and paper and write out how much money you bring home every month, and what kind of expenses and how much of each is spent during the month. From there you can see where your money has gone, and think about next month in terms of what should be spent and what not. Then basically you just made a budget.

There’s no doubt that most of us plan for the future, specifically about financial matters. For example, next month I’m going to spend no more than $300 on food, $100 on clothes, and try not to exceed $200 on gas. Or by this time next year, I’ll have enough savings to put 10% down payment for my first new home. The problem is, most people find it hard to stick with their budget. A month later I may have found out that my total spending for food exceed $500 due to more frequent dining out and pizza orders. Or a year later, I may have realized that my savings never got any better, not even close to 2% of the home I wished to buy.

I don’t have hard statistics to prove that situation, but I know that’s what happens to me and a lot of people I know, who are living paycheck to paycheck. Most of the stuffs I read on money websites all talk about successful people, or at least those with solid financial education. For a regular Joe like me, it’s impossible to discipline myself for a long time in order not to blow up a budget. I would stress again the word long time. It’s true that I can spend a day or two without shopping and eat only can food. But you’re talking about a whole long month, or a whole long year, that would amount to torture!

In short, budgeting is never practical to me. It never helps me control my spending, but only makes me depressed when I compare it with the actual income and expenses. I keep asking myself “so what’s the point of budgeting if it can’t help curb my spending?” Maybe that’s not what budgeting is for. Beside giving you an idea how good or poor you’re doing financially, it gives you nothing else. But knowing how good or poor you’re doing is not enough, and in many cases, not necessary. The goal is to improve your financial condition, not just knowing how good or bad it is. Well, if there were an easy button somewhere that you can instantly get your financial budget and actual by pressing it, then it would be nice to know. But in reality you will have to spend lots of time gathering the numbers and do the calculations. This precious time should have been spent to change your lifestyle or do something to cut down your expenses, or simply get another source of income. That would definitely be a better scenario than making a budget.