Budgeting isn't as straightforward as it seems

[Compromise me]

Especially if you have your own family (wife and kids), the need for making budget is very important, I feel it's much easier on someone when all the responsibility the person have is just theirself but when you have other people as your responsibility (maybe you are the breadwinner of your family), then it is very important to work with budget, otherwise you might not be able to even feel satisfied with your income even if the money is considered to be big. A bachelor could have less responsibility and can therefore be able to have more savings and investment even when they don't intentionally keep a budget list. So, based on your status in your family or otherwise, one should be able to know if it's important that they start to work with planned budget or spend without planning.

It is good to keep records of earnings or expenses whether you have family or you are alone, it is a way of managing the budget properly. This is a method that I also follow because of this i always tried to keep my self in budget. I control myself while making spending , but yes sometimes i feel helpless because of sudden incident, it gives me stress because disturbance in one time affect my budget for the long time. At this time everyone's budget is disturbed not because of poor planning but because of uncontrollable inflation. Where no changes occuring in wages, making list of spending is becoming impossible to manage especially for lower income people. They have to now bond to utilise their savings to meet their needs. Means they have nothing left for battling any emergency.

[BitBakerr1]

Budgeting is good, but that would never solve the problem, in cases of inflation your budget will be disorganized because of price flactiation,
But while people keep talking about budget I think it's best to work on increase your source of income instead, use that money to create more money, sacrifice clothes, expensive and unnecessary items for knowledge of skills and capital, and that's why the call it financial freedom, what does budget in this level have to do with someone that is wealthy

You are correct, instead of focusing more on budgeting as a low income earner, what you should do or focus on is how to increase your income.
As a low income earner budgeting will never make you live comfortably because emergency will come up and you will use the money you have budgeted for a particular thing for it.
Budgeting is meant for those who are rich or high income earners to a large extent.

I am not saying that as a low income earner you should not budget, you need to budget because it will actually help you but your focus should not be on that your focus should be on making sure you increase your source of income.

[Stalker22]

I simply believe that if we love doing something in life, we should be well paid for it.
~

Honestly, thats just pure delusion.

The market does not care about your passion.  At all.  Value comes from scarcity and demand.  Thats all.  If three million other people love doing the exact same easy, fun thing you do, the pay is going to be total garbage because your work is financially worthless.  No matter how much you "love" doing it.

You get paid for jobs that most people cant or wont bother to do... not for having fun.  If your passion happens to line up with a high-value skill?  Awesome, you won the lottery.  But expecting high pay just because you enjoy the work is delusional tbvh.

[DubemIfedigbo001]

I simply believe that if we love doing something in life, we should be well paid for it.
~

Honestly, thats just pure delusion.

The market does not care about your passion.  At all.  Value comes from scarcity and demand.  Thats all.  If three million other people love doing the exact same easy, fun thing you do, the pay is going to be total garbage because your work is financially worthless.  No matter how much you "love" doing it.

You get paid for jobs that most people cant or wont bother to do... not for having fun.  If your passion happens to line up with a high-value skill?  Awesome, you won the lottery.  But expecting high pay just because you enjoy the work is delusional tbvh.

That's true, if what you love doing solves no real problem, then there'll be no substantial revenue from it. Your value increases when your product solves real problems and people are willing to pay to utilize it in solving their problems. Although I agree that someone should identify their passion and create value from it. Believe it or not, problems exists everywhere and even any solutions introduced a new problem. The more problems you can solve the more you have the ability to decide your pay

I've not felt more alive and in control of my finances until I started creating budgets for almost every expenses. I saved more and had better investments. Sometimes you ought to be a bit flexible by having floats so that you don't choke yourself, but budgeting kind of allows you to have a clear picture of your cashflow and know how to minimize your excesses.

[Pearl_20]

Good that you've learnt your lesson. Budgeting is a good financial practice if you are paying attention to things. It goes beyond downloading a budgeting app. If you do not differentiate your wants from your needs, you will keep overspending even after budgeting. The best practice will be to discipline yourself no matter your income, so that even when your income increases you do not automatically increase how much you spend on things.

You're right budgeting goes beyond that, having a budgeting app downloaded on your phone without self discipline it will just be as every other app on your phone or you just wasting data on something that doesn't count. Discipline helps you to do the right things from the wrong things, like if you have money you know where to keep them immediately and avoid impulsive buying and like you said without discipline you'll still spend money even with the app downloaded on your phone, so first and foremost is for you to discipline yourself so that even if the money increases or not you know exactly what to do at all times.

[fruktik]

But for low income people, budgeting does not work like that. They budget so that their small amount of income will fit even on their basic needs, while saving can only happen if they earn extra amount but that's only rare to happen. That's the reality with poor people. Budgeting is really a kind of struggle, especially in times when the income isn't enough, or when sudden bills arise that are not included in the budget.

Poor people cannot afford any extra expenses, yet they often make another major mistake: taking out bank loans. They shoulder this burden without even considering the potential consequences of their decision.

Not long ago, I learned that more than half of the population in my country has one or more loans. This means that every second person is in debt to a bank. And guess what? The majority of these borrowers are poor families who cannot afford to buy something like a new washing machine without borrowing money or opting for an installment plan.

[fruktik]

Truly untill you start to pen down your expenses, you wouldn't notice some kind of pattern that are you developing that otherwise if you saw the same pattern outside, you would either laugh or even criticise them for doing it yet you yourself you are exhibiting it and again, it is your income most times that determine how those patterns start and even how they develop without you noticing for so long.

Nevertheless I'm glad you are looking at taking care of yourself health, it is a very wise decision in this days and time and especially with the way the economy is moving, it's best to pay attention to your health and also to your budgeting.

Yes, keeping track of your expenses is a pretty good idea. But why go to all that extra trouble when, in today’s world, everything is already available in your mobile banking app? You just need to go to the "History" tab, where everything is laid out in detail: where, when, and how much. That’s how I personally keep tabs on things. I also have a notification service enabled; whenever I make a purchase, I immediately get an update on my account balance and the amount spent. It’s far more convenient than carrying around a notebook to jot things down. I’ve also picked up a new habit: I now make sure to always take the receipts when I shop—something I never used to do. Why? To keep a handle on my finances and my family budget.

[Tongley]

Truly untill you start to pen down your expenses, you wouldn't notice some kind of pattern that are you developing that otherwise if you saw the same pattern outside, you would either laugh or even criticise them for doing it yet you yourself you are exhibiting it and again, it is your income most times that determine how those patterns start and even how they develop without you noticing for so long.

Nevertheless I'm glad you are looking at taking care of yourself health, it is a very wise decision in this days and time and especially with the way the economy is moving, it's best to pay attention to your health and also to your budgeting.

Yes, keeping track of your expenses is a pretty good idea. But why go to all that extra trouble when, in today’s world, everything is already available in your mobile banking app? You just need to go to the "History" tab, where everything is laid out in detail: where, when, and how much. That’s how I personally keep tabs on things. I also have a notification service enabled; whenever I make a purchase, I immediately get an update on my account balance and the amount spent. It’s far more convenient than carrying around a notebook to jot things down. I’ve also picked up a new habit: I now make sure to always take the receipts when I shop—something I never used to do. Why? To keep a handle on my finances and my family budget.

Yes, you are right and I completely agree with you. But what I do is that after spending the whole day, when I return home at night, I write down in one place where and how much money I have spent. By using this method, I do not have to carry a notebook all the time and I can save myself from the hassle of writing again and again. So I do this work at night and write down all the expenses very accurately.

The method you mentioned, online history, is very good, but in some cases, we have to make transactions with cash and we will not find these cash transactions in the history, so I think it is better to write them in the notebook.

[EarnOnVictor]

Why?

It turns out that our income dictates our expenses.  I realized that because I was earning well each month, I was indulging in more without really noticing it.
So, when you're budgeting, always look at both sides: how much you spend and how much you earn. The latter figure has a much greater impact than most people realize.

I've known this for so long and I don't stress myself over it. There's no budget in my dictionary, but I am a natural conservative person, with a high degree of prudence. First, I discourage frivolous spending and encourage savings and investing. I ensure that a little percentage of my earning take care of the bills. However, if there is a need to adjust by adding a little, I do for comfortability sake, but my spending has never been reckless.

Also, the issue most people have is not the budgeting or planning on how to spend their money but income problem. This is why it's good to increase this to encourage a better living.

[viljy]

~

You're wrong on both counts.
First, inflation doesn't affect your view of your income and expenses; both values rise. Moreover, you'll see true inflation based on average values, based on your own experience.

Actually, for a large part of the population in the real world, expenses are rising, but their incomes are not. In the world of Middle‑earth, it probably happens the way you described: Galadriel’s income, the incomes of the dwarves and hobbits, are rising along with the prices. However, we don’t live there...

Second, if you have an unexpected expense, such as medical expenses, you'll always mark it separately in the app. This way, you can always ignore it when calculating your average monthly expenses. I have plenty of such expenses, and they don't interfere with my overall budget picture.

I didn’t understand that. If you have plenty of such unforeseen expenses, why don’t you include them in the calculation of average monthly expenses? Because when you have plenty of them, it’s no longer quite correct to call them unforeseen.

[aoluain]

It turns out that our income dictates our expenses.  I realized that because I was earning well each month, I was indulging in more without really noticing it.
So, when you're budgeting, always look at both sides: how much you spend and how much you earn. The latter figure has a much greater impact than most people realize.

This is the case for sure, as I like to put it "we always live to the max of our salary".
I can vouch for this because without budgeting in the past I have always lived up to
my salary and when I got a pay rise I never actually had any extra money because
 . . . I lived up to that too.

Its very difficult because every mibute of the day we are bombarded with messages
and advertising on how we need lots of more stuff which we dont actually need.

The trick as per the OP is to create an plan, the difficult part is to stick to it!

[kingstep]

But for low income people, budgeting does not work like that. They budget so that their small amount of income will fit even on their basic needs, while saving can only happen if they earn extra amount but that's only rare to happen. That's the reality with poor people. Budgeting is really a kind of struggle, especially in times when the income isn't enough, or when sudden bills arise that are not included in the budget.

Not long ago, I learned that more than half of the population in my country has one or more loans. This means that every second person is in debt to a bank. And guess what? The majority of these borrowers are poor families who cannot afford to buy something like a new washing machine without borrowing money or opting for an installment plan.

Most of the Fintech companies have borrowers that are mostly young adult that takes up loans from these apps and when it is time to pay back struggle to do so. as a matter of fact, some of them take up these loans knowing fully well that they are not going to pay it back but still remain adamant about their action.

It is very necessary to leave within your means so you don't go borrowing money to sort out something you can afford to do without. imagine borrowing money to buy a washing machine as a young guy that is just starting life out?

[Different patterns]

And that’s one main reason we need to know the importance of bookkeeping and also be disciplined enough to make sure we achieve our plans because earning a lot of money a month from your business doesn’t mean you are going to be rich or you are making profits but when you are able to keep the necessary records and realized how much has been spent and how much has been earned, you will realized that you need to spend wisely and you will effectively set a target or let’s say an amount you cannot spend above because you know if you spend more than that amount, the business will suffer and might affect the business’s profit. So it’s important to keep records and also make sure you are disciplined enough to effect the plans you have made

[Abdul Sami786]

I simply believe that if we love doing something in life, we should be well paid for it.
~

Honestly, thats just pure delusion.

The market does not care about your passion.  At all.  Value comes from scarcity and demand.  Thats all.  If three million other people love doing the exact same easy, fun thing you do, the pay is going to be total garbage because your work is financially worthless.  No matter how much you "love" doing it.

You get paid for jobs that most people cant or wont bother to do... not for having fun.  If your passion happens to line up with a high-value skill?  Awesome, you won the lottery.  But expecting high pay just because you enjoy the work is delusional tbvh.

That's true, if what you love doing solves no real problem, then there'll be no substantial revenue from it. Your value increases when your product solves real problems and people are willing to pay to utilize it in solving their problems. Although I agree that someone should identify their passion and create value from it. Believe it or not, problems exists everywhere and even any solutions introduced a new problem. The more problems you can solve the more you have the ability to decide your pay

I've not felt more alive and in control of my finances until I started creating budgets for almost every expenses. I saved more and had better investments. Sometimes you ought to be a bit flexible by having floats so that you don't choke yourself, but budgeting kind of allows you to have a clear picture of your cashflow and know how to minimize your excesses.

Those who have a job with limited income that is a fixed amount of money every month can make both savings and budgets and they have information about the amount spent on everything in their home and if they want to increase or decrease these expenses it is also their own choice. However those who have their own businesses or receive more money than necessary do not need to make a budget or save.Yes if you save money and invest in good places, you will be financially strong. The needs of your home will also be met easily.Remember make investments with planning and skill so that the money you save is not wasted.

[DubemIfedigbo001]

However those who have their own businesses or receive more money than necessary do not need to make a budget or save.

Anybody and everybody regardless of your financial capacity needs to save and budgett.
No matter how much you earn, if you don't manage your money well, it would never be enough, you'll always be running short despite your huge inflow.
Everybody has need to save, if you don't you cannot invest and mind you, you'll not work forever, so you always need what would be a source of passive income, that's only when you're financially successful, when you're earning doesn't depend on active working.

[terrific]

It turns out that our income dictates our expenses. 

Because our mind is setting on how much we're going to spend depending on our budget. If you're earning low, it's also going to make you adjust for what you're going for the expenses.
It's about how we manage our finances and that's why the high earners are also adjusting their lifestyle when they earn well compared in the past.
Don't get into it quickly about lifestyle inflation when you earn a lot of money. Save still, invest and don't be too confident with how much you are earning today will be the same tomorrow.

[abhiseshakana]

Yes, keeping track of your expenses is a pretty good idea. But why go to all that extra trouble when, in today’s world, everything is already available in your mobile banking app? You just need to go to the "History" tab, where everything is laid out in detail: where, when, and how much. That’s how I personally keep tabs on things. I also have a notification service enabled; whenever I make a purchase, I immediately get an update on my account balance and the amount spent. It’s far more convenient than carrying around a notebook to jot things down. I’ve also picked up a new habit: I now make sure to always take the receipts when I shop—something I never used to do. Why? To keep a handle on my finances and my family budget.

I use sepran to record my expenses, using this app, I can determine the percentage of spending for each expense category, This makes it easier for me to review my spending habits and Moving forward, I may need to change my shopping style. I consider myself a thrifty person but matter of fact my wife likes to shop and pamper herself. She using money as a tool to purchase experiences and happiness. At first, I often got into arguments with her, but over time, both of us got used to planning for her habit of enjoying life and having fun with guilt free spending. We have lifestyle fund saving which is indeed allocated to be spent.

After sometimes, I realize that budgeting is merely a medical record for my finances conditions, whereas financial planning is the doctor’s prescription. So i surely said that People who often enjoy life and occasionally splurge are not necessarily illiterate financially. Actually, I feel in many cases, people who can spend large sums of money without anxiety are people who possess a high level of financial literacy. Of course to enjoy guilt free spending we must have an understanding the concept of the time value of money and the importance of life balance, we should mastering strategic cash flow management and aligning it with our goals and dominant characteristics.

We never focus on don't let the money run out but our priority are how our money reaches its intended purpose. If long term goals (retirement funds, a home, children’s needs) are mathematically secure, then any remaining money is ours to enjoy today. I think refusing to enjoy life for the sake of accumulating a higher balance in one’s bank account can also be a sign of an unhealthy relationship with money. We just need to ensure when we finance today's dream lifestyle we are not sacrificing future security.

https://sepran.id/

[Cookdata]

Poor people cannot afford any extra expenses, yet they often make another major mistake: taking out bank loans. They shoulder this burden without even considering the potential consequences of their decision.

Not long ago, I learned that more than half of the population in my country has one or more loans. This means that every second person is in debt to a bank. And guess what? The majority of these borrowers are poor families who cannot afford to buy something like a new washing machine without borrowing money or opting for an installment plan.

I think this is individuals, a person can be an average earner, have little finance expenses and still fail to budget and this same applies for poor people. Most often, a poor person earn less amount of money and there is nothing on earth that is going to make you plan when you have less earning capacity with overcrowded bills everywhere. You can only budget when you have some earning power to some level.

There are some average people that earn enough to budget with less expresses and yet they failed to budget. They earn well to budget but extravagant lifestyle and living above means make their plans useless. They will plan all their life budgeting before the salary comes and as soon as they got alert, boom! They go out of plans and before you know, there is nothing left to shoulder the expenses for that time till they get another pay check.

[BTC FutureKing]

And that’s one main reason we need to know the importance of bookkeeping and also be disciplined enough to make sure we achieve our plans because earning a lot of money a month from your business doesn’t mean you are going to be rich or you are making profits but when you are able to keep the necessary records and realized how much has been spent and how much has been earned, you will realized that you need to spend wisely and you will effectively set a target or let’s say an amount you cannot spend above because you know if you spend more than that amount, the business will suffer and might affect the business’s profit. So it’s important to keep records and also make sure you are disciplined enough to effect the plans you have made

Running a business is a big and hard work because business is not just about profit. Rather it is very important to have knowledge about everything related to it because there is no guarantee of high profit in the beginning.If you work hard and keep everything in front of your mind and eyes then you will know where and why the money has increased and decreased.Even if you are earning a lot of money still take the reins of your business yourself and do not give it to someone else.And if the expenses are more than your profit then it is necessary that you reduce unnecessary expenses and pay full attention to the business because the real profit is the money that remains after covering all the expenses.

[Chilwell]

You're right budgeting goes beyond that, having a budgeting app downloaded on your phone without self discipline it will just be as every other app on your phone or you just wasting data on something that doesn't count. Discipline helps you to do the right things from the wrong things, like if you have money you know where to keep them immediately and avoid impulsive buying and like you said without discipline you'll still spend money even with the app downloaded on your phone, so first and foremost is for you to discipline yourself so that even if the money increases or not you know exactly what to do at all times.

Discipline yourself is very important when it comes to budgeting, a lot of people sing budgeting as a song but they don't put it into practice and that is why majority failed to achieve what they want. No amount of money we cannot spend, but putting it in a budget will automatically allow us to build ourselves financially and also protect ourselves from being fall out.

No matter how many apps you have in your phone and you did not put it into practice in time of spending honestly those apps will be useless which was why I agree with your point. We should always make sure we maintain our spending by doing it below what we are earning, if this is put into practice and consistently you will achieve your aims of what you want to do.