Why, Oh Why do I Need to Budget?

Why, Oh Why do I Need to Budget?

budget

Who?  Me?  Make A Budget?  Are you serious?! Why the heck do we need to budget?

Most people hate to make a budget even just hearing the word budget makes them cringe.  Even I myself was not very enthusiastic in doing it at first but once you got the hang of it, you just look forward to doing it on a monthly basis.  It has come to the point that even if I have received my salary I will not be able to spend even a single centavo until I have finalized my budget for the month.

You might think that it is weird that I do monthly budgeting.  I do have a defined guide for my monthly budget which I do tweak as and when needed.  For example, when I need to allocate for quarterly bills like my parents’ HMO or when the payment for my income tax has not started (previously, there was a period of 2-3 months before the deduction of my income tax took effect).

The set up here in SG is that the income tax is not automatically deducted before you receive your salary.  You will need to arrange to pay it directly to IRAS, this is equivalent to our BIR in the Philippines, and you can choose to pay monthly or a one-time lump sum for the year.

For me, I choose to pay monthly since the annual payment can really burn a hole not just in your pocket but also in your savings account.  Aside from that, there is no additional interest if you pay monthly.  I am digressing but I think you got my point.

The change in the monthly budget can be due to a planned event in the future like a family travel, the 70th birthday of your parents, the debut of your unica hija, renewal of vows to celebrate the Golden Wedding Anniversary of your parents, etc.  We all know how Filipinos want to find any excuse to celebrate, eat and party. 🙂  For parents, it may be that your children’s tuition fee may be paid higher at the start of the school year vs the other payment due dates.

Aside from the monthly budgeting that I do, I also do budgeting two more times: for my 13th month pay and when we get a salary adjustment in the middle of the year based on past year’s performance.

So back to the question, “why budget?”

Based on James Rudd’s series in Udemy:

Budgeting is managing money.  It is getting cash flow under control.  It is gaining control of your spending.  It is spending money on things that help one lead a more abundant life.

I really like his course “How to be Successful with Money and Get Ahead”.  He has different perception on some things that you can gain a new insight or a different perspective like the way he defined budgeting.  Catch his course in Udemy and let me know how you find it. 🙂

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