When I talk to people about budgeting, it’s interesting to hear all the ways they’re shooting themselves in the foot.
So many folks have no budget at all.
They spend freely throughout the month & wonder where all their money went when the well runs dry. The answer is simple; your currency floated right out the window the moment you stopped paying attention to your money flow. This is why I insist on setting an absolute budget for my household. The point is, there’s only so much currency to spend, & that’s it. If you mishandle your money throughout the month, you’re going to have an uncomfortable couple of afternoons when you get to the end of the period. This is especially brutal when it comes to managing your utility budget, energy expenditure, & HVAC system. In my home, we have to choose which afternoons to use the heating & cooling system. Our boiler & AC don’t run every day of the year because it’s high-priced, energetically irresponsible, & costly to rely so heavily on artificial indoor air. We can use the furnace when it’s horrifically chilly outside. We can turn to the central air conditioner if it’s honestly warm boiling inside the house. But when we run out of currency to pay the energy bill budget each month, we’re SOL. At that point, we have to make due with natural ventilation AKA opening the windows & hoping for the best. I’ve tried to tell my friends & family about budgeting for your energy expenditure each day & making intelligent decisions about using the central control unit, however all the people aren’t interested in the strict HVAC practice. When they talk about budgeting for household expenses & monthly bills, it’s really more of an ideal than an absolute.
