The B-word

In a land far away, long, long ago the B-word found itself hanging out with the wrong crowd and ended up with a bad rap. It hasn't always been that way, but over the last few years (even decades really) the word Budget has had a negative connotation. The ironic thing is that, if used appropriately, it's very freeing rather than restrictive. Now in the interest of full disclosure, we are not at all where we should be in the budget department. Some people have their income and expenses itemized in such acute categories that they know to adjust everything to account for the additional $0.31 per day that they spend on herbal tea and essential oils during allergy season. As for us, we operate under more of a 'keep it between the lines' budget and even hope for the road to curve in the direction we're headed sometimes. The more disciplined that we are able to become though the easier it seems to get.

One of the ways that we've been able to improve our financial position is by taking a hard look at some areas where we have strengths and weaknesses. If we're able to capitalize on some of our strengths and mitigate some of the effects that our weaknesses have, we can't help but improve. And, while we're not always great and keeping it in between the lines as I mentioned earlier, there are some areas where we're able to make some headway. Those of you who really know me understand that I'm slightly competitive in most aspects of life. In a previous role with my company I had the ability to pull a Stack Ranking report in order to see where everyone within the company in the same job role measured up against each other. Now I'm not that competitive really so I usually only pulled the report every single day and sometimes more than once a day. Every once in a while when I would pull the report it would take me a few seconds to find my name. You see, I would always look at the top spot first and work down from there because I fully expected to be in that top spot every single time. But, on occasion, the name beside the number one wasn't mine...which would absolutely infuriate me. Retrospectively it was actually really good for me to check it as often as I did because it was a huge motivator for me to get back on top. I would break down exactly what I needed to do to end up back in the number one spot and then build in a buffer in case anyone else was gunning for the top as badly as I was.

Enough of me reliving the glory days of smashing everyone else's numbers consistently...though it's fun to think about. All that was to say this, one of my strengths is my competitive nature. Ok, strength identified; now what? Glad you asked. Now we have to figure out a way to monetize it or, at the very least, put it to good use not spending money. And, this is where the competition is helpful because I constantly have the opportunity to stack rank myself against previous versions of myself. For me money in general has almost become a game. If I find myself wanting something badly but having the discipline to pass and move the amount I would have spent into savings or investments it feels awesome. And, the more that we've been able to do that, the easier it becomes to do. Believe me though, my propensity for doing dumb things financially is still remarkably high. But, the small wins are worth celebrating and really go a long way in motivating us to stay on track. So even if our budget isn't locked in so tightly that we'll be independently wealthy any time soon, it's also not just flapping in the breeze either. The point is we're trying to acknowledge ways and areas where we can improve one step at a time.

What's one of your budget secret weapons? Or, what are some of the areas that could use a little elbow grease to tighten up and get you back on track? Either way your feedback might be just what someone else needs to hear to jumpstart their own financial success.

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Jefferson