Budgeting Doesn't Require Self Control! | Home Finance Help

A statement many people wouldn?t believe when discussing budgeting but it begs the question

How much Self Control do you have?

Before we test that, let me tell you what I?m on about.

A statement I am often confronted with is

?I don?t have the discipline or self control to budget?.

My answer is to question

?Whether it is discipline/self control or something else that is needed??

Imagine for a moment you have taken a joy flight last weekend up over an area that is truly beautiful. Your up there alone with the pilot admiring the view when you turn to him to comment on how much you are enjoying yourself and suddenly the pilot has a massive heart attack and dies.

How much self discipline or self control will it take for you to land that aircraft?

You need to know how to fly the plane. Know how the controls work, what the gauges mean and have the knowledge or information to control the plane. The point is no amount of self-discipline or self-control will help you land the plane. What you need is information on HOW to land the plane (some experience would help as well!).

Apply this to money management.

Taking the flight to look at the view will not guarantee success just as applying self-control in itself will be useless without knowing where and how to apply it and what applying it is designed to achieve. You need to know when you are being successful and when you are failing to be able to ensure your success. Certainly some self control or self discipline will help but if we have the right system and information to follow they become less important.

The Self Control Test

On the question of self control here is a small test for you. Take a $5 note. Record its serial number on a piece of paper and give that piece of paper to someone who will keep you honest. Now place the $5 in your wallet (or purse) and don?t spend it! You can spend any other money from your wallet (or purse), but not the one you chose for the test. NOTE:- You are cheating if you zip the note up in a separate pouch. It must be kept where the rest of your money is kept.

If you can?t keep it there for one week you need to take a good look at yourself. If you can keep it there for a whole month I would say you pass the self-control test. You probably have the strength to be successful. If you can treat an insignificant bank note as if it is so important that you would go without a coffee you desperately need, or an ice cream for the kids when they are pestering you, or a loaf of bread or bottle of milk that you really need, then you probably have the discipline thing under control. All you need is a plan to follow. Remember, knowing what to do is just as important as having the inner strength to be able to carry it through. Discipline without information is useless. You will crash the plane!!!!

What is the point to all this?

Having some self control or discipline may help but what most of us need is information.

Information on where our budget should be today, now.

How much money should I have in the bank today to be confident my budget will not crash in the next year?

Are there any points in my budget in the next year where I need to be particularly careful?

You need a budget system that will show you these things.

Source: http://www.thehumblemumble.com/budgeting-doesnt-require-self-control/

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