Wow! I remember when this amount was $200 a week. It has been a long road to being able to understand the value of money. I grew up without much money, so I always thought that I knew the value of money. I never bought brand new or expensive cars. I never was into expensive clothes or shoes. I did buy a lot of videogames, but nothing I would consider excessive. For the most part, Kris and I have been below average spenders.
However, recently (within the last year), we have really started to understand how money works. We have started saving and investing our money. Now, we truly appreciate every dollar spent. There is a fine balance between spending a dollar today or investing a dollar for tomorrow. We have to be very aware of our surroundings and circumstances for the present day. Every day is special and we can’t live our lives dreaming of the future. However, that also isn’t an excuse to spend like there is no tomorrow. We have to balance the present with the future.
Remember that there are 3 types of budgets: House budget, investment budget, and personal budget. Of all the 3, the personal budget is the most disposable income. The personal budget contains all items that we can live without. The house budget should contain food and gas. So when it comes down to it, what do we really “need” besides what is covered in the house budget? My personal budget is pretty much my “vices” budget. This budget is for gas station stops for items such as energy drinks, beer, liquor, coffee, fast food, candy, or chips. Also, if we are allowed to travel to work again, this would cover the times we go to breakfast or lunch. This budget would also cover any videogames I would like to purchase.
The way I control my personal budget is by transferring $60 to my Cash app every Monday. I can easily track the amount of money I have left at any given time. There is no need to compete within a busy checking account. The good part about the Cash app is that stocks can also be bought via the app. So each time I want to spend money, I literally have to choose between a quick fix today (candy bar) or an important purchase for tomorrow (stocks). I love having these daily battles over a couple of bucks. It really puts everything into perspective.
I find that when I am battling myself over a couple of bucks, the bigger money is easier to save and invest. When I am laser-focused to stay under my $60 a week personal budget, all my other budgets and accounts are flush with cash. When I lose sight of my $60 budget, it seems that I can easily start drawing down from other accounts. I lose focus. Money slips away. Once you have all the other budgets in place, tracking the personal budget is vital to the success of the overall mission. For example, if I know that Friday I want to order Sonic fast food for $25, I need to start preparing for that expense on Monday. If I spend my $60 by Thursday, then I will have to use $25 from another budget on Friday. The personal budget can get out of control the fastest.
As we look over our 3 budgets, we have to remember to be realistic in our approach. If we don’t give ourselves a reasonable amount of money to budget, then we will always blow past our budgets. They can lead to a psychological defeat that can have ramifications on other parts of our financial lives. Kris and I have worked hard to mentally prepare ourselves for $60 a week budgets. It may take you longer to get your budget down to where you want it to be. We have gone through multiple different financial phases, all of which lead to where we are today. Now, we are ready to live a little more frugally. We are not the most frugal people out there, but we do question how we spend each and every dollar. End the end, that is the most important part of budgeting. Asking one’s self, “Do I really need this?” or “Does this add long term value?”. Once we get to this point, we can start to really focus on what is important for today and what is valuable for tomorrow.
Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article
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