How many of us are guilty of not having a set budget when shopping? And yes, "shopping" includes grocery shopping for the house and other basic needs. Whether we want to admit it or not, at least 90% of us have gone shopping without a planned spending budget. Nor do many of us have this mentality that we are about to share with you.
The word "budget" can be like a curse word to some of us. But if we go to a financial planner or advisor, they would tell us to have a budget planned out each month. If we are to improve our financial health and well-being, we need to have that hard talk.
The good news is that it's actually easy to budget when we apply this one mindset Ms. Johnson recommends trying: "If I can replace it, I can afford it." Here's how it has worked for her:
"If I see an item I like, I am not afraid of looking at the price. Be it $10 or $1,000, those numbers don't scare me. Yet, I have to, according to the Bible, "count the cost" of whatever it is I am going to purchase or invest in (Luke 14:28). I used to purchase things on a whim, without even thinking about it. Buying on impulse is one of the most deadly things one can do to their finances.
And, again, I will take my video game experience as an example. Before I purchase something on the game's marketboard, I have to ask myself this: "The item costs $1,000. Can I easily replace $1,000 through doing simple tasks?" If my answer is "yes", I will purchase it. If my answer is "no", I will find a way to earn that $1,000 before I change my "no" to a "yes". Once I find a way to earn that $1,000 easily, I will, then, purchase that item.
A real life example can be investing in Forex. Usually, if you want to invest in any market, it's best to invest between $500 and $1,000. Let's say you work a job that pays you $5,000 a month. Now, you have to ask yourself the question: "If I make $5,000, can I easily replace $1,000 off my paycheck for this month in order to open up an investment account? If I can by working a network marketing job or an extra shift at my regular job, then I can afford to open up an account.
Another example can be used at the grocery store. Yes, prices on goods are high, but let's say we make a list of foods we need for the house. On average, let's say we spend $250 on a grocery run. Let's give ourselves a challenge: Let's not spend any more than $250 on this grocery run. So, we find foods that are on our list. Let's take out our Calculator on our phone and put the numbers "250" on it. Each item that gets put into our cart, let's subtract the price of that item from that 250 on our calculator. If we fill our cart up and our number doesn't reach "0", then we successfully budgeted our grocery run."
These are just some examples of how we can make budgeting a positive thing. We can treat budgeting like a game or a fun challenge. It all depends on our goals and what we are striving to invest in or fund. Let us know what are other ways you can make budgeting fun and easy for you in the comments below. Don't forget to share this post with your friends and family members, so that they can have a positive view on the word "budget", too!
Until next time, this is TinyBoss signing off!
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