Anxiously Awaiting On Everything Eternal…

Budgeting FTW

I have a good job. I am not lacking in anything material--as a matter of fact I have spent quite a bit of money on some things that I don't need. Take a click at the gear section of my site and you can see what I'm talking about. Recently I realized that sometimes I spend in an unbridled way on the mundane. Is this a big problem? Actually, no. I can afford it and still have quite a bit of money left over--the balance on my savings account proves that to me. But what happens if I lose my job? Since it is in the realm of possibility that I go from eating out every week to living off PB&J in an instant, I think I need to soften that potential standard of living shock a bit. I am not in danger of losing my job, but I think I need to cut back a bit and get into the habit of living off a budget for my own future financial good.

Previously, my budget consisted of whatever I spent during the month. I am not a lavish liver. I don't buy expensive clothes, I don't spend money on partying, bars, alcohol, or other often worthless money sinks, and I am very careful about going into debt or making large purchases. Recently I considered buying a new car--a Toyota RAV4--but I eventually backed out because the car I have works just fine. Well other than the AC being broken, but hey, it's winter now. I'm good . The point is, I could be content with the car I have or go into debt to live more comfortably. I chose no debt.

My point is to underscore that even though one can be well off and have decent spending habits in some areas there is still a need for universal financial discipline and self imposed limits. My standard of living has indeed been kicked up a notch in some areas; I eat out more and spend money on things that I really want or enjoy like my lovely Macbook Pro, my bike, guitar toys, good concerts, and my friends. Nevertheless, I believe I should pay more attention to the budget I have established and get into the habit of enforcing it. Yodlee has an awesome budgeting tool (among other great features) that tracks how much you have spent during the month versus your goals in an intuitive graphical way. It's a great tool for visual people like me to use to get a handle on how much money I have left in the monthly budget. I highly recommend it.

Unfortunately, it looks like I am really close to my limit on eating out (which is a problem area according to my transaction history), so please excuse me while I go to the store and buy some PB&J. Hooray for self imposed discipline!