Sticking to a Budget: Finding Your Why

I recently wrote a post about 5 Reasons You Don’t Stick to a Budget which I had researched through the good old method of asking friends and family. I purposefully left out one of the BIGGEST reasons why people aren’t sticking to a budget because I felt there was an entire article’s worth of content rather than just a blurb. It was “Having a strong enough WHY.” For anyone that has gone through entrepreneurial ventures you will often hear about having a good WHY? It is the same with any goal you want to accomplish. WHY do you want to lose weight? Or WHY do you want to quit your day job and work from home? But the WHY do you want to get out of debt is far more obscure and possibly harder to come by.

My WHY

When I decided I wanted to get out of debt I went back to a source I had heard about years before: Dave Ramsey and the Snowball debt method. I hadn’t ever read any of his books or listened to any of his podcasts before, but I had heard of him. So when Alex and I were finally at the point of wanting to get out of debt (again) and figuring out how sticking to a budget was the key we went back to that old source and bought the The Total Money Makeover and the Total Money Makeover Workbook. I started reading this book with the thought I was already way ahead of the game and that I already knew my stuff.

I came out of reading that book like I was a complete idiot and wondering what we had been thinking over the past three years to get ourselves back into so much debt again!

My Shallow WHY

So to find my motivation and inspiration I started listening to the Dave Ramsey podcast. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to find the motivation and inspiration to get out of debt. One of the most motivating factors to me was the Debt Free Scream. People call in or visit his station and get to scream to America that they are DEBT FREE!!! I so want to do this. This is my shallow why.

My Deeper Why

My deeper why is because I wanted to quit my job guilt free. I didn’t want to take almost half of our income and have it go away while we were still paying off debt. I wanted to be responsible when quitting my job. We also really want to have a child (or 4) and I want to be a stay at home mom so I can teach my children what I want them to learn. I want to be able to experience their growth and not learn about it from a daycare. We could only get to this point if I could quit my job and I could only quit my job if we lost half of our monthly expenses.

This is why I decided to start working on getting out of debt. Once I latched onto this deeper reason why there was no stopping me. And I also decided it would be fun to share my experience with the world because I want the world to know it is possible. You don’t have to live like the rest of the world in debt and financial insecurity. You can be debt free and have financial peace and then go above and beyond by accomplishing your financial goals.

Finding Your Shallow WHY in Sticking to a Budget

When you think about getting out of debt what is the first reason that comes to mind? For me it was the thrill and joy of being free that eventually morphed into being able to appear on the Dave Ramsey show and scream my “WE’RE DEBT FREE!!” at the world.

Why do YOU want to get out of debt? Because having a budget is the number one step to getting out of debt it is important you find your WHY. Sticking to a budget is the KEY to finding success. If you are a list maker, make a list. Do a PROs vs. CONs list. Or a WHY vs. WHY NOT list. The first few reasons you come up with are your shallow reasons why.

• “I want to be financially free.”
• “I don’t want to owe money to other people anymore.”
• “I want to be able to afford nicer things without feeling guilty.”
• “I want to stop feeling guilty for spending MY money.”

These are just a few common WHYs people have.

Finding Your Deeper WHY in Sticking to a Budget

This is the area that takes the most thought. Really sit down to think about this. This needs to be deeper than just emotions. But a driving factor that will keep you going when the going gets tough.

Sticking to a budget is difficult because it is more than just putting figures on a paper. It is a plan. If you are not used to sticking to a budget it can easily become discouraging when you fall off your plan. When Alex and I first started there were a few times one of us would just buy something because that’s what we were used to doing. But that was also why we couldn’t figure out where our money was going each month. We couldn’t figure out how we made so much money yet could only save a small portion saved each year. Where did the rest of our money go?

That’s why we created a plan. Sure, we fell off it a few times, but instead of giving up we knew sticking to a budget was the way to go so we just got back on and adjusted where we needed to in order to not be over-budgeted. That’s why you need to be flexible, especially when you are just starting your budget.

Deeper Why can come over time

Our deeper why came over time. I was really struggling with my job. I came home frustrated. Every. Single. Day. It wasn’t fair to Alex or myself. I knew I needed to leave my job before I lost myself. I had been searching for a job and either got no responses back or just plain “No’s”. It was demoralizing and added even more frustration and stress to me. Besides, nothing I was applying for was what I really wanted to do. It was just the next step to getting me out of my current job.

I really want to be a writer. I want to have my books on the bookshelf at Barnes and Noble and see fans sitting in chairs nose deep in something I wrote. But writing isn’t a sure career for making great money. Sure, there are the J.K. Rowlings of the world, but most writers don’t make it off very well. Especially starting off. I could write on the side, but because I was in such a mental strain writing became just another frustration for me as it felt flat and droll. Or I was too exhausted after working 14 hours on my feet rushing around putting out unnecessary fires (figuratively).

But I knew I couldn’t just quit my job and lose almost half of our income. Not when we never had half of our income still left in the bank each month. If it wasn’t in the bank it meant it was spent. So we decided to make a budget and figure out how much we really needed a month and how we could adjust our lifestyle so we could afford to live on Alex’s income alone. At least until I could get started on some of my side hustles I want to do!

Sticking to a Budget and Keeping Motivated

How can you stay motivated? By having a strong why. How can your strong why keep you motivated? By making it show up every day in your life.

Dream Boards

I am a hands on visual learner so for me SEEING my why is a huge help in finding motivation for sticking to a budget. For example, if you want to get out of debt so you can buy your dream home, then put a picture of your dream home wherever you can and want. Make it so it is visually present. Perhaps a great place is in your purse or wallet. That way any time you are tempted to spend some of that money you didn’t plan or budget for you are reminded WHY you need to wait until next month to buy whatever you were just tempted to buy.  Once you budget for it then you can spend it.

Understand It’s Not All or Nothing

Just because you are on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t spend your money. All it means is you are planning what you are spending your money on in certain time chunks. Sometimes you just have to wait a little while in order to get whatever you were tempted to buy that usually causes you to purchase outside of your plan. Depending on your personal circumstances and desires you might only have to wait a week, but most often no more than a month.

Find a Motivational Partner or Group

Alex and I keep ourselves pretty motivated. He reminds me each time we pay something off I am just that much closer to getting my workplace freedom. Every time we save on one of our categories I excitedly exclaim to him that it puts us closer to paying off my car (this is currently our last debt other than our house!) because we throw literally every extra penny a month towards that car. Our goal is to have it paid off in 10 months!

For me the best motivation is the thought of doing that Debt Free Scream. The exhilaration. The thrill. The excitement. Nothing helps motivation like the thrill of something like that.

Finding Financial Peace

Sticking to a budget ends up being more than just getting out of debt, but finding Financial Peace. I have honestly been very blessed in my financial situation throughout my adult life. I struggled. But I always had enough. There have been times when I didn’t really care about my finances and (more often) times when it was always on my mind. I want to become a millionaire. Alex and I, when we first bought our house, would walk along the trail that is next to our neighborhood and discuss how we could become millionaires. That was where we thought financial peace would come from. And it’s true, there is certain peace in knowing you have a million dollars at your disposal. But having the money isn’t what gives you financial peace. Knowing how to handle the money is what gives you financial peace.

Whether you make $30,000 a year or $130,000 a year it doesn’t matter if money is ruling your life. You will feel the stress of debt. You will feel the burden of more month than money. You will lose time wondering how you can pay for your child’s braces. None of that is fun. Having financial peace means you don’t have to go through that any more. Because you have a plan you can have peace. Sticking to a budget is that plan. You know where your money is going and when it will be gone. Because YOU planned for it.

What’s Your Why For Sticking to a Budget

So now I turn it over to you. What is your WHY in sticking to a budget? What is your reason for getting out of debt? Why do you want to have financial peace? Share your why in the comments below and your plan for getting there!