For a lot of people, money is a tough topic, and even just thinking about it can cause stress. The good news? You can fall back in love with your finances again – and it doesn’t have to take a big pay raise or winning the lottery to get there. By breaking down your finances into a categorized budget, you can take control.
Let’s dive a little deeper into the four key categories that are crucial to redefining your relationship with money.
- Your Needs – There are some things we just can’t live without. Rent, groceries, utilities – all of these things are non-negotiable when it comes to making budget decisions. Your “needs” category should be the largest part of your budget breakdown.
- Your Wants – Sometimes referred to as “fun money,” your “wants” are the things that you probably look forward to buying the most. Movie outings, new clothes or your streaming subscriptions are great examples of things we all love, but don’t necessarily need. When you’re breaking down your budget, you may have to make a few cuts here and there, but it’s important to work within what you have.
- Your Future – This section includes both savings and debt repayment. It’s important to make an active effort to set aside money for those two things. It can be tempting to “just use what’s left over” from your “needs” and “wants,” but the best way to set yourself up for a happier, healthier financial future is to make an effort every month by setting some aside. Trust us, your future self will thank you!
- Your Community – As you probably know by now, we’re pretty passionate about our community, and along with that comes a belief in giving back. How that looks is different from person to person – it may be a tithe to your church or a donation to the food bank, but we believe that everybody has a responsibility to give a portion of what we’re blessed to have back to those who need it most.
After you categorize your spending into those four categories, all that’s left is to stick to it! Sometimes the perception of a budget is that it’s limiting, but the opposite is actually true. Once you’ve got clear lines drawn, there’s so much more freedom that comes from living within your budget.