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Whether you will agree with me or not, budgeting is the most important aspect of financial wellness. It is a necessary tool to keep your finances in order by determining where your money goes each month.

Do you use a budget to manage your money or say your spending? Do you have a reason why you are not using a budget? Do you find it difficult to create a budget?

The concept of budgeting is as simple as ABC. You set aside an amount of money for an item or a cause and you only spend within that set amount for those things. Ifyou want to stay financially healthy, and don’t want to pile up debt, and also leave within your income as much as possible, then you will need a budget.

So, why don’t you use a budget?

If you have followed most personal finance advice, you know that this is one simple rule that comes up time and again: you need a budget.Despite knowing how budgeting is very important, some people will still not create nor use it because of several unfoundedreasons. Whatever reasons you may have posited that kept you from having this all-time important planning tool is simply harming your financial life and will in no time lead to your financial downfall.

Here we take a look at the ‘given’ reasons why people don’t budget and why those reasons should be taken as mere excuses: 

1. It did not work in the past:

Did you try to use one before but it did not work out well? Then try again. In fact, you have not had the success you want with the budget because you stopped trying too early. You may have used a wrong budgeting system or method. The good news is that there is a budgeting system out there that will definitely work well for you.

You don’t need to be good with numbers or saving money to use a budget. There are as many ways to budget as there are classes of spenders. The very first step to figuring out which will be the right one for you is knowing some of the main reasons your last budget did not work for you.

2. I don’t know how to create one?

A budget is a roadmap for how your money will be spent so you can maximize your hard-earned income. It is not a one-size-fits-all design that complicates one’s life. I wrote on 3 simple steps to create a budget with the information you already have with you. Budgeting can be a little daunting when you are starting with it but you need to start with what you know.Decide if you need to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard

The effectiveness of a budget lies in being able to assign all your money a specific task and keeping to that limit. Don’t make it detailed and don’t try to figure everything out. But work on improving on it over time and you will be good. I will not advise at the first stage for you to use the many budgeting apps online. Once you understand the basics of budgeting, you will eventually do it the way you want.

3. Idon’t always remember to create it:

It is one activity that I don’t find interesting to do and would not remember to create one until the income has come. Do you have any other thing to say? If you don’t attach the due importance to using a budget, you will not remember to put it together. It is advised that you create it early every month, long before your income is received.

Companies and governments will always start the process of having a new years’ budget within the current year. See a budget as your spending plan without which you will not be able to fulfill any expenses/payments. It is worth remembering.

4. It ‘boxes me to a spot’:

It makes you not to exercise the freedom to engage in the kind of spending you like. Do you really think a budget puts that limit on you? A budget is a control tool but it is a wrong assumption to believe that you can only spend what you have on your budget against your real desires. It is wrong because you as the owner of the budget set the budget by yourself basically following your regular spending habits.

What you have achieved with a budget is to assign and align your spending within your income(s) so that you don’t overspend and go into debt. You are also able to keep away a portion as savings since it is included in a budget as an item. The budget can still be adjusted if there is a change in priority.

5. I don’t think I need it:

When you ever think you don’t need a budget, then I take it that you are yet to understand what it truly is. A budget is a spending plan and has no business with how much income is involved. You need a budget as a high-income earner and as a low-income earner. We all need a budget to help us be responsible for our resources.

You need to plan your income and spending because it is one control that can bring satisfaction to you when you can identify everything you used your money within a particular period.

6. It does not seem useful:

Do you see budgeting as a waste of your precious time? Do you see it as a sanctimonious task that you don’t need to follow but to satisfy the ‘create a budget’ requirement? If you will have a budget that you will not use, then why bother creating it at all. It is not a religion but a working tool to help you manage your income and spending.

It is as useful as what is used for and should be monitored on the go as you use it for the management of your resources.

7. I am disciplined enough to manage my money:

You have your budget in your head and can decide where and when you will spend your money. You enter a shop and sees items around but know the ones you need for the period. You are likely a ‘rare gem’, I guess. It is only a spending plan that can help you keep track of your inflows and outflows. It is what will prevent you from engaging in impulsive spending.

Cash lying about is very easy to slip by unaccounted for. Add a budget to your discipline and see how well on the pathway to financial wellness you will be.

Bottom Line

Don’t be caught again giving any of these excuses. I know you are convinced that you need it more than you thought. Start with a simple one today.

Take the step to secure your financial future.