I am proud to say that on January 2nd 2015 after more than 10 years, I gave up smoking!
This is a big deal, because I loved smoking. I loved the time it gave me away from desk each work day, I loved the fellow smokers you meet outside at pubs, I loved how it gave me something enjoyable to do while waiting but there was one big aspect that I absolutely hated that got me to quit. The cost.
My experience in giving up this disgusting (yet greatly satisfying) habit has unexpectedly shown to have quite a few similarities in starting and sticking to a budget.
1) You know you should do it, but you keep putting it off.
I kept putting off quitting smoking because nosy annoying people were telling me to. I hate being told what to do, they aren't the boss of me and besides it wasn't noticeably affecting my health right? Wrong, I smelled bad ALL THE TIME, my skin was bad and stairs were my lungs worst enemy.
Its the same with budgeting you put it off because you think everything's alright, you pay your bills on time each month but in reality you're relying on credit cards to survive and the only savings you have are the collection of silver coins spread throughout your car. You also put budgeting off because you don't want to have to cut down on anything and nothing anyone can say will make you feel different.
2) At the start you're always angry and everything annoys you.
Everyone's familiar with the type of mood swings and grumpiness that occurs when someone is trying to quit smoking. I remember sitting next to someone and their breathing really pissing me off!
The same emotions can be experienced when one starts living to a strict budget. You find yourself counting every dollar you've spent on food, beer, utilities etc and you get to the point where you are walking past people spending money without a care in the world and you find yourself saying "I JUST WANT TO SPEND SOME FU*%ING MONEY."
Now, we recommend you budget to "throw money around" on occasions, to reward yourself for your good work and to keep your sanity.
3) Your Friends Don't Understand
When you quit smoking other smokers take offense to another member of their dying group decide to abandon ship. They'll throw phrases around like "Oh c'mon, don't be stupid join me outside for a smoke" and "why? my grandmother smoked her entire life and lived until she was 88.
Once again, it's the same with budgeting, your friends will always have an answer as to why you shouldn't worry about budgeting now. "Stop being boring, you can worry about you finances later, YOLO (you only live once!),""Oh who cares about saving, my parents are retired and have fun and they never cared for budgeting," and lastly "Why are you saving up for, don't you have a credit card!"
4) The REWARD for both is FREEDOM
The main reason I decided to try and quit smoking was to save money, I absolutely hating to hand over the nearly $20 every other day. I was at the point where money in the bank was worth more than a satisfied craving and tar in my lungs.
However, the real reward for giving up smoking is the freedom I get back in my everyday life. I am no longer worried about when my next cigarette will be particular in meetings, conferences and on long flights. And it feels great!
Freedom is also the major reward for sticking to a budget.
You get freedom form the stress of wondering if you can afford to survive each month, Freedom from knowing you have money put aside in case of emergencies and the freedom of being able to pay down your debt so that in the not too distant future all your income will be yours and not paying some mongrel bank interest.
If this type of freedom is what you're after as well then look us up at www.prudentcashflow.com or send us an email to admin@prudentfp.com.au today