Living Above The Norm

Kathryn at Million Dollar Journey wrote an interesting article comparing the most common types of budgets.  I’ll save you the recap, just make the jump to her link above to see the differences.

What she did write that caught my eye was her comparison of budgeting to diets.  She writes, “Only you know yourself well enough to know what kind of budget will work for you. Remember the same diet doesn’t work for everyone. Even though it comes down to simple math; eat less than you burn and spend less than you make, a budget or a diet plan gives you the tools you need to successfully carry out your goals. You need to find a system that works for you.”

It got me thinking – Do people give up on budgeting the same way they often give up on diets?

Those of you that know me know that I’ve been blessed with a super-fast metabolism and I actually have difficulty gaining weight.  I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t eat as healthy as I should.  I’ve never been on a diet, but I’ve seen many people jump from diet to diet; unable to get the results they desire.  I do, however, consider myself to be a pretty disciplined person, especially with finances; and I’ve seen many people struggle with budgeting their finances the same way.

Do you Budget the way you Diet?

Diets often fail because people don’t stick with them… most fail because people are willing to change how they live as long as they can still have what they want. At some point in a diet (or budget) what you want is crossed by what is best for you.  The question is simple. Will you have the discipline to tell yourself, “No?”