))
When?
This feed was archived on June 18, 2017 15:28 (
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Today, you’ll learn a simple way to build a budget, in just minutes, for 2014 that adds certainty, increases savings, and produces bigger money surpluses each month.
How?
By using money buckets to fund short-term needs, long-term goals, and everyday fun activities.
Don’t worry… THIS budgeting process is easy, fun, and simple… and you’ll actually end up with a useful guide for funding and managing money monthly and annually in your life!
I operated for years without a budget. Why? It wasn’t easy to stick to one. And, if I had one… I wasn’t really sure what the numbers meant to me.
Also, I didn’t know where to begin. Do I set aside some money for this and some money for that? What if I run low (or out) of money in one area… can I borrow from another area? My OCD was winning.
And, I didn’t believe that living on a budget would be fun. Would my budget control me? When I busted my budget (inevitable), would I feel sick? (Yup). And, if I did stay within my strict spending parameters, would I ever actually get ahead?
All these mental mantras kept me from building a budget. So, I continued with no real spending (budget) strategy… until, after months of low checking account balances (sometimes in the double digits, scary), I decided it was time to tighten up cash flow and create a budget.
[contentbox width=”550″ borderwidth=”1″ borderstyle=”solid” bordercolor=”850C2B” dropshadow=”1″ backgroundcolor=”FEFFEF” radius=”0″]It became clear… not having a budget pretty much leads to becoming broke… or at least feeling broke. Both of these realities hurt my head![/contentbox]
Convinced that I needed something to help me spend more strategically, I launched myself into discovering what minimum fundamentals make up a useful budget. Here’s what I found:
[list style=”arrowgreen”]
[/list]
Then, the biggest epiphany on budgets hit me:
[font family=”Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif” size=”24″ color=”860C2B” textshadow=”0″ alignment=”center” weight=”normal” style=”normal” lineheight=”110″]budgets are about spending, not saving[/font]
That’s right… when we melt away the noise, a budget helps us spend smart.
For instance, it helps us allocate money appropriately ($50 to phone, $1,200 to house, etc.). It also helps us prioritize urgent, important, and extra spending (protect with insurance, then pay down debt, then enjoy a night out). Finally, it helps us make more progress in less time (i.e. what gets measures gets results).
At the end of the day, budgets are about controlling cash flow. Mastering cash flow means we know where our financial future leads, with total certainty. We move forward, not backward. Ultimately… we grow our family fortune faster.
Yes, you can build a budget in minutes.
How?
First, protect time to do it. While the budget I talk about in the episode is simple, it does require you set aside 10 to 20 minutes to do it. So, do it.
Second, know your why… that is, what’s important about money to you (discussed in detail in episode 31).
Finally, you’ll need some buckets. What are those?
Using money buckets to budget makes the entire process quick and simple. This concept was created by Ray Lucia for retirement planning. But, I realized it could also be used for easy, fast, simple budgeting, too.
Money buckets are an easy system for allocating money to control cash flow. Imagine pouring income into a bucket, and draining income from a bucket. You may have 1, 2, 3, or 10 buckets (places to allocate income to and take income from). Here’s what I mean.
Imagine 3 buckets: a SHORT-TERM bucket, a LONG-TERM bucket, and a FUN bucket. When you get paid, you allocate money to each bucket. When you need money to pay for things… you take money from each bucket accordingly.
The first bucket is for short-term spending. Think monthly bills here.
The second bucket is for long-term spending. Think saving, investing, and retiring.
The third bucket is for fun spending. Think holidays, vacations, events, and toys.
As simple as using money buckets is to build an effective budget is, natural concerns come about.
For instance, will this system take lots of time? No. Why? Because their are no complicated computers or complex financial calculations involved. This system simply brings income and spending into plain view… so you can audit, adjust, and adapt how you manage money, quickly!
Will money buckets make sticking to a budget easier? Yes. Why? Because it presents a clear picture, a defined direction if you will, taking daily, monthly, and annual action is easier.
Will money buckets actually help me build a budget for 2014, in just minutes?
Yes… if you know what’s important about money to you (listen to episode 31)… that is, your beliefs and convictions are solid.
Yes… if you know what’s important about money to you (listen to episode 31)… that is, your beliefs and convictions are solid.
Yes… if you have good financial habits (listen to episode 33) which lead to intelligent financial behaviors.
Yes… if you build your buckets, enter your numbers, and audit everything occasionally.
Yes… if you DECIDE that money buckets will help you budget, they will. As a matter of fact, ANY budget system will work if you simply make a commitment to do it, use it, and believe in it.
[linebreak style=”23.png”]
What do your money buckets look like? I share mine here. But, how about you… using money buckets, sketch out your budget. Download a blank money buckets PDF here and comment… do you have a surplus or a deficit?
Comment below, or leave a post on Facebook, or on Twitter that shares what lessons about money you have learned!
Thanks for listening. Now… go use money buckets to build your budget for 2014! See you in the next show!
[socialshare style=”hc” title=”Share This Page” facebook=”yes” twitter=”yes” googleplus=”yes” color=”FAFAFA” bcolor=”DDDDDD”]
50 episodes
When?
This feed was archived on June 18, 2017 15:28 (
Why? Inactive feed status. Our servers were unable to retrieve a valid podcast feed for a sustained period.
What now? You might be able to find a more up-to-date version using the search function. This series will no longer be checked for updates. If you believe this to be in error, please check if the publisher's feed link below is valid and contact support to request the feed be restored or if you have any other concerns about this.
Today, you’ll learn a simple way to build a budget, in just minutes, for 2014 that adds certainty, increases savings, and produces bigger money surpluses each month.
How?
By using money buckets to fund short-term needs, long-term goals, and everyday fun activities.
Don’t worry… THIS budgeting process is easy, fun, and simple… and you’ll actually end up with a useful guide for funding and managing money monthly and annually in your life!
I operated for years without a budget. Why? It wasn’t easy to stick to one. And, if I had one… I wasn’t really sure what the numbers meant to me.
Also, I didn’t know where to begin. Do I set aside some money for this and some money for that? What if I run low (or out) of money in one area… can I borrow from another area? My OCD was winning.
And, I didn’t believe that living on a budget would be fun. Would my budget control me? When I busted my budget (inevitable), would I feel sick? (Yup). And, if I did stay within my strict spending parameters, would I ever actually get ahead?
All these mental mantras kept me from building a budget. So, I continued with no real spending (budget) strategy… until, after months of low checking account balances (sometimes in the double digits, scary), I decided it was time to tighten up cash flow and create a budget.
[contentbox width=”550″ borderwidth=”1″ borderstyle=”solid” bordercolor=”850C2B” dropshadow=”1″ backgroundcolor=”FEFFEF” radius=”0″]It became clear… not having a budget pretty much leads to becoming broke… or at least feeling broke. Both of these realities hurt my head![/contentbox]
Convinced that I needed something to help me spend more strategically, I launched myself into discovering what minimum fundamentals make up a useful budget. Here’s what I found:
[list style=”arrowgreen”]
[/list]
Then, the biggest epiphany on budgets hit me:
[font family=”Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif” size=”24″ color=”860C2B” textshadow=”0″ alignment=”center” weight=”normal” style=”normal” lineheight=”110″]budgets are about spending, not saving[/font]
That’s right… when we melt away the noise, a budget helps us spend smart.
For instance, it helps us allocate money appropriately ($50 to phone, $1,200 to house, etc.). It also helps us prioritize urgent, important, and extra spending (protect with insurance, then pay down debt, then enjoy a night out). Finally, it helps us make more progress in less time (i.e. what gets measures gets results).
At the end of the day, budgets are about controlling cash flow. Mastering cash flow means we know where our financial future leads, with total certainty. We move forward, not backward. Ultimately… we grow our family fortune faster.
Yes, you can build a budget in minutes.
How?
First, protect time to do it. While the budget I talk about in the episode is simple, it does require you set aside 10 to 20 minutes to do it. So, do it.
Second, know your why… that is, what’s important about money to you (discussed in detail in episode 31).
Finally, you’ll need some buckets. What are those?
Using money buckets to budget makes the entire process quick and simple. This concept was created by Ray Lucia for retirement planning. But, I realized it could also be used for easy, fast, simple budgeting, too.
Money buckets are an easy system for allocating money to control cash flow. Imagine pouring income into a bucket, and draining income from a bucket. You may have 1, 2, 3, or 10 buckets (places to allocate income to and take income from). Here’s what I mean.
Imagine 3 buckets: a SHORT-TERM bucket, a LONG-TERM bucket, and a FUN bucket. When you get paid, you allocate money to each bucket. When you need money to pay for things… you take money from each bucket accordingly.
The first bucket is for short-term spending. Think monthly bills here.
The second bucket is for long-term spending. Think saving, investing, and retiring.
The third bucket is for fun spending. Think holidays, vacations, events, and toys.
As simple as using money buckets is to build an effective budget is, natural concerns come about.
For instance, will this system take lots of time? No. Why? Because their are no complicated computers or complex financial calculations involved. This system simply brings income and spending into plain view… so you can audit, adjust, and adapt how you manage money, quickly!
Will money buckets make sticking to a budget easier? Yes. Why? Because it presents a clear picture, a defined direction if you will, taking daily, monthly, and annual action is easier.
Will money buckets actually help me build a budget for 2014, in just minutes?
Yes… if you know what’s important about money to you (listen to episode 31)… that is, your beliefs and convictions are solid.
Yes… if you know what’s important about money to you (listen to episode 31)… that is, your beliefs and convictions are solid.
Yes… if you have good financial habits (listen to episode 33) which lead to intelligent financial behaviors.
Yes… if you build your buckets, enter your numbers, and audit everything occasionally.
Yes… if you DECIDE that money buckets will help you budget, they will. As a matter of fact, ANY budget system will work if you simply make a commitment to do it, use it, and believe in it.
[linebreak style=”23.png”]
What do your money buckets look like? I share mine here. But, how about you… using money buckets, sketch out your budget. Download a blank money buckets PDF here and comment… do you have a surplus or a deficit?
Comment below, or leave a post on Facebook, or on Twitter that shares what lessons about money you have learned!
Thanks for listening. Now… go use money buckets to build your budget for 2014! See you in the next show!
[socialshare style=”hc” title=”Share This Page” facebook=”yes” twitter=”yes” googleplus=”yes” color=”FAFAFA” bcolor=”DDDDDD”]
50 episodes
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