7 Perks of Budgeting for a Happier Life
Starting a budget can be hard, especially if you’ve tried to implement one before. Having the right mindset can go a long way towards creating and sticking to the perfect budget.
There are many well-known benefits of budgeting, including planning expenses, managing income, and saving for retirement and emergencies. Besides these, there are other advantages of budgeting which people overlook. Learning about these various reasons will lead you down the road towards budgeting success.
Keep reading to learn about the unexpected ways sticking to a budget can improve your financial life and change your perspective about budgeting.
1. Less Stress
"It's not stress that kills us. It's our reaction to it." ~ Hans Selye
Figuring out how much money you have available to spend is at the core of any quality budget. Getting to that point can be difficult, but it’s amazing how much simpler life can become once you get there. You won’t have to worry about whether you can afford the next big thing. If it’s not in your budget, you can create a plan to buy it later on.
As long as you stick to a budget, you’ll be set.
Even thinking about finances can make some people anxious. All of this anxiety might be washed away if you know how much you can spend. Creating a budget requires a little more work upfront, but once setup, you’ll worry less about money.
Better yet, people who follow a budget can avoid enormous amounts of stress later on in life. By setting a budget early on, you can ensure that you are saving enough for things like retirement, large purchases, vacations, and more. People without financial plans may struggle to put money away for these vital parts of life.
2. Get More Sleep
"Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together." ~Thomas Dekker
This benefit goes hand-in-hand with the previous one. We all know that getting a solid amount of sleep is important. How many nights have you spent awake, worried about bills, money, or what your next fiscal move should be?
A lot of these nagging questions will be answered for you during the budgeting process, all while lowering stress. The budgeting process requires you to find the answer to questions like the ones above before they become a problem. Figuring out your monetary situation will lead to less worrying about money; late at night and in general.
3. Early Warning System
"One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning." ~ James Russel Lowell
In the same vein, going through the budgeting process will help provide an overview of your financial situation. You’ll need to dig into each of your accounts and find out spending, debt, income, and more.
This process will show you both the good and the bad in your financial situation. By taking the time to get familiar with your finances and create a budget, you’ll get an idea of which areas of personal finance you should focus on improving on first. Having this plan is especially important with spending habits, and can help curb various harmful buying habits.
Once you get an idea of where you need to focus, you can work on improving that area and avoid issues down the road.
4. More Confidence
"If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in race of life." ~ Marcus Garvey
Almost everyone is afraid of the unknown. In the same way that creating a budget will help you worry less; following one will help build your confidence. The whole budgeting process is about learning and taking control of your finances. After you take the time to figure out your situation, you won’t be left in the dark.
This newfound knowledge of your financial situation will lead to much more confidence and allow you to be more decisive when making decisions about money. Confidence in the financial area of your life can bleed over into other areas of your life.
5. Better Relationships
"Trust is the glue of life... It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships." ~ Stephen Covey
Less stress in your financial life translates to less stress in all of your relationships, particularly for couples!
If you live with your significant other, it’s important to take the time to discuss financial goals together. Talks about money can lead to some pretty meaningful conversations about what you both plan to do in the future. Things like buying a house, starting a family, where you want to retire, and more can all start from talks around a simple monthly budget.
Money is a big stress point for many couples, and discussing it together can help create a strong foundation of trust. Setting an agreement about spending upfront can avoid a lot of tension later down the road.
6. Improve Organization
"The more we can organize, find and manage information, the more effectively we can function in our modern world." ~ Vint Cerf
Creating a budget forces you to organize your finances and get them all straightened out.
For some people, getting all of their financial accounts in order may be the toughest organizational challenge they’ll face. The skills used to use to create a budget are easily translatable to other areas of your life. After figuring out your entire financial situation, something like cleaning your house may seem like a cakewalk.
7. Having More Money
"Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver." ~ Ayn Rand
Having more money is one of the things bloggers and budgeters often miss about budgeting. At the end of the day, the goal of a budget is to help “find” more money. Budgets help set guidelines to be more efficient and deliberate with your money.
These guidelines often encourage you to spend less and save more. Combining these two things is a powerful way to start building a lifetime of wealth and prosperity.
Money is a finite resource, and planning ahead will help you make sure every dollar has a purpose
What does this all mean?
Essentially, everyone should try to have a budget. The budget just needs to exist; it doesn’t need to be complicated or incredibly detailed.
Knowing how much you want to spend each month will go a long way towards improving your life. Budgets can help decrease stress, increase confidence and organization, improve relationships, and show how to be more efficient with spending and saving.
Take advantage of these benefits today! There are plenty of resources online for creating the perfect type of budget for your situation. For starters, figure out roughly how much you want to spend each month and try to stick to it. Through a little bit of trial and error, you’ll find that having a budget leads to all these benefits and more.
