Budgets are like training wheels: They help you get moving and offer you confidence as you learn how to balance.
I wish I could come up with a better word than “budget” for managing money. While I’ve made peace with the word, it still conjures up synonyms like whip, drudgery and cruel master. Personally, I prefer the more elegant term “spending plan,” but for now, because budget is so universally understood, let’s just go with it, all preconceived notions aside.
No Budget Is Fail-Proof
Search “how to budget” and you’ll get a list of options a mile long. While there are many ways to budget, none is perfect. A budget is a tool you develop to fit your lifestyle. There is no single, guaranteed budget method, form or spreadsheet….