The Tool Doesn’t Matter, Only the Method

So I have a question for you.

Have you started to keep a budget yet? I’ve really been hammering this topic lately more than another other single personal finance topic.

For the last two weeks, I’ve really highlighted why I think YNAB is the best tool to create and stick to a budget. I realized that I had been spending so much time mentioning YNAB but I hadn’t really gone in depth about why it’s my favorite way to budget.

That’s why I decided to spend one week talking bout why their software is my favorite software for budgeting. Then last week, I talked about why the method they use works so well with the software they use.

But now I want to really emphasis a point that I think is the most important thing to consider as you make improvements to your finances.

That is: The tool doesn’t matter, only the method.

The truth is, everyone needs a budget. A budget is a plan for what you want to do with your money before you spend it. It’s so important to have that plan down so that you don’t wake up one day and wonder where all of that money went.

The most important part is that you’re making that plan for your money.

But if you’re stuck trying to decide the best way to budget, what should you do?

Don’t Get Stuck

As an Enneagram 6w7, I have a strong tendency to overthink things. Whenever I set out to figure out something new, I want to make the absolute best decision.

When I pick out a toothbrush, I don’t want just any old toothbrush. I want the best toothbrush. I must have the toothbrush that will optimize my brushing needs. Is there a review online for the best toothbrush? I better check just to make sure. I’d hate to make the wrong decision that I’ll be stuck with for the next 4 months.

This sounds ridiculous and I’m making fun of myself here, but if I’m being honest, the truth doesn’t look too much different.

With budgeting, I used to spend hours trying to optimize our budget to make it perfect. I would move from budgeting solution to budgeting solution trying to find the absolute best way to do this.

Before we had kids, no joke, budgeting was actually what I did for fun. I just was fascinated by trying to find the best way to set up our finances. I’m definitely the nerd in the relationship.

But now that I have a little more perspective, I want to encourage you to move on.

If you don’t have a budget yet, I want to encourage you to use YNAB. But I’m telling you right now. Using YNAB is not going to make or break your financial success.

Creating a plan for your money is.

I don’t want you to get stuck trying to find the perfect tool.

Here’s a real life example from my life yesterday (this is no joke). Katie and I are planning to run our first half marathon. It’s something we’ve both wanted to do for a long time. In fact, last year, I made a lot of progress towards getting out and running. In the end, I decided to table that goal because I was really wanting to get this blog off of the ground. But I’ve decided it’s time pick it back up.

So yesterday, I’m getting back outside to go for a run. I totally got stuck trying to figure out which app I wanted to use to track all of my runs. Of course, I need to get this right from the very beginning because I’ll want to keep track of all of my precious running data.

Oh that precious data!

How will I ever run a half marathon if I don’t choose the correct app today!

And I totally got stuck in this loop of trying to figure out which app I wanted to use.

Here’s what I decided.

There’s absolutely no need to optimize my running data at this point of the game. It just isn’t helpful to know that I ran a 13’30” mile right now. Who cares?

You know what matters more than tracking my running data?

Getting outside and running.

And not just today, but in two days, and two days after that. In fact, it won’t even matter how much I run. It will only matter that as I tackle a new running goal that I start to identify myself as a runner. Someone who, just gets out and runs.

So I’ve decided that I’m just going to take the apps that I’m considering using and try each one on a different run. Then I can go back to the ones I liked the most.

I’ll just try them out. But make no mistake, it will matter more that I got out and went for a run than it matters what app I’m using to track data.

Same thing with your finances.

It will matter more that you budget than what app you use to budget.

The guy that uses paper and a pencil and sketches out their expenses for the month and actually uses that budget to plan for how he’s going to get ahead will be better off than the person who has the perfect budget tool but doesn’t really stick with it.

Don’t get stuck here. Make a gut decision choice and move on. And you know what? You can change your mind later if you want to.

You Need To Create a Unique Budget for Every Single Month

Here’s what budgeting boils down to.

Create a plan for your money before you’re paid. That’s really it. Sure there are a lot of finer points to make, and there’s a time to make them. But really a budget is just you deciding what you’re going to do.

You need to create a unique budget for every single month. Otherwise, you’re just leaving money on the table.

The reason it needs to be unique every month is that there are never two months that look exactly the same.

Some months, you may have some expenses that will require more of your income. But then other months, you’ll want to take advantage of having having fewer expenses so that you can really maximize your progress towards your goals.

Use Good Habits to Meet Your Budgeted Goals

Here’s where the rubber meets the road.

I have a lot of perspective on this subject. Don’t allow yourself to get so caught up with the process of perfecting your budgeting without also taking a look at the underlying habits that help you stick to your budget.

Where I struggle is in our dining out category. Guys, I’m still working on this one. But for me, there’s no faster way to completely blow our budget than to eat it by dining out too much.

When we do good, it’s because we’ve consciously made the effort to plan out our meals and then stick to that plan when we’re tired from work.

Once you’ve decided on the tool you’re going to use and budgeted for your priorities, it’s time to focus on the habits that help you stick to those priorities.

For me, this means that:

• We make a food plan for the week that’s written down.
• We make our grocery list.
• We make the decision to eat at home ahead of time so that when we inevitably feel tired at the end of a long day of work, we aren’t having to come up with a plan in the moment.

When you’re budgeting, take a look at the categories that seem to crop up as danger spots for your spending. Instead of focusing on just setting a number that stays on budget, work the habit that will keep you on track instead.

So I’ve shared that food is a huge issue for me but I’d like to ask you. What category do you have trouble keeping on track?

And here’s the really important question. What would it take for you to be successful in this area?