Benefits of Staying on Budget
There are many important benefits to budgeting your money. In addition to the obvious financial benefits, you should also remember the many personal and emotional benefits of demonstrating healthy money habits.
As you are planning your budget it is very important to remain focused on the positive benefits that result from the process. Remember these important benefits to ensure you make better spending choices:
Reduced stress over personal finances – perhaps the most important benefit of all is that once you have a clear budget plan in place and you are successfully working the plan, you will have a greater sense of calm knowing that your money issues are on a path to improvement rather that getting worse.
Future major purchases can become a reality – budgeting empowers you to plan for future major purchases. No more will you have to say “someday” as if someday means when you hit the lottery. Now someday can become a specific date in the future. Having a clear spending plan in place eliminates the mystery of knowing when you will be able to afford making that important purchase. You just need to plan ahead to make it happen.
Better relationships – when financial stress is reduced or eliminated you will be a lot easier to be around. People will notice that something has changed; they’ll comment on how much better you look; how you seem to be happier – and they will be right. When stress is not weighing you down, you’ll naturally be better company and as a result your relationships can once again grow and flourish.
A life change will occur – most of us tend to learn our bad money habits from our parents. By taking ownership of your financial issues and taking decisive steps to change for the better, you will be changing your family tree in a sense. Your children will witness new spending behaviors and therefore learn different lessons than you were taught. The impact of change will become generational and that is an amazing gift to pass on to your kids.
Life becomes easier, more simple, safer and more secure – when you finally decide to jump off the spinning wheel, the rat-race of keeping up with your friends and neighbors – something special happens. You begin to realize that all the “stuff” you thought you wanted, the things you felt strongly that you needed, really didn’t have much value after all. Simplifying your finances helps to simplify your entire life. Less becomes more.
Remember these important benefits of budgeting to maintain your motivation to stick to your budget plan.
Budgeting is not always easy, but it is very doable if you are truly committed to improving the quality of your life.
