01/09/2026
News flash: budgets (or spending plans as I prefer to call them) aren't essential.
They do work brilliantly for some people, particularly:
- those without much money to spare. When you have to watch where every dollar goes to make sure you don't get caught short, a budget is your best friend.
- those who spend frivolously. No judgement, just . If every buck burns a hole in your pocket, a budget can help you resist wasteful spending.
- those expecting major life changes. Perhaps there's a bub on the way, or you're going to buy a house, or you're getting a new job. Big changes are worth budgeting for.
..but if you:
(a) have more money coming in than you need to spend,
(b) don't let that money fritter away easily, and/or
(c) life's plodding along at a steady pace
..you don't have to do a budget if you don't want to.
(Though, for the record, it probably can't hurt)
Further, I reckon there's little point creating a spending plan if you're just going to ignore it.
Better to spend the time on something that will be useful - perhaps negotiating a higher salary, or a lower mortgage interest rate.
Now, a confession: I don't have a spending plan.
Each year, I download my transactions and tally up how much I've spent in major areas like grocery shopping, holidays and housing costs.
If there's a big change versus last year, I'll try to find out why - and see if I can whittle down the cost if it's not warranted.
But I'll only do a forward-looking spending plan when I'm considering a major transaction, such as buying an investment property.
I save ambitiously and I save upfront. Anything that's left is mine for spending. I call that . And that'll do me for a budget.
How about you? Do you have a spending plan? Do you stick to it? Let me know in the comments :)
