Budgeting Can Be Dangerous

I’m not a fan of traditional budgeting.

You: What do you mean when you say “traditional budgeting?”

I’m talking about where you make a list of all of your expenses and try to ensure that you don’t spend more than, say $35 on entertainment or $50 on groceries for a week.

You: Sounds like classic budgeting to me. What’s not to like?

First, I have no patience for such a budgeting process.  Since I don’t recommend others do anything I’m not willing to do, I can’t endorse the technique.  Second, and more importantly, I don’t think budgets like those actually work.

You: Why not?

They’re too inflexible to deal with the spontaneity that makes life what it can be.  Instead of budgeting your spending, I recommend budgeting your saving. To get a better idea of what I’m talking about, check out my post at Mint.com:  3 Dangers of Conventional Budgeting