You might need a "fine tuning"

Does your spending support your values? It’s the blended coffee drink, lunch with a friend, that extra pair of shoes, the new TV, ice cream for the kids, a bicycle….

Every item you purchase should be accounted for somewhere specifically in your spending plan. A client of mine was tracking his spending in his “eating out” category and found that he was spending $200 a month on eating out for lunch. This gentleman likes to eat out but he doesn’t really want to spend that much on eating out for lunch. He decided he would limit his lunch account and transfer some of his spending on eating out to dinner where he can enjoy a nice bottle of wine with his meal.

He recognized through the tracking of his spending that he isn’t going to change how much he spends eating out but spend it more consciously on where he eats outs. Enjoying a nice bottle of wine with his meal supports his likes and values.

I encourage you to review a category in your spending plan and fine tune it by asking yourself if the amount you spend in this category and where you spend it supports your goals, likes and values. You may be surprised!

Key Ingrediant #3-Leavening Agent

Next key ingredient to a mouth-watering spending plane is: The Leavening Agent.

Key ingredient #3 to a winning recipe is- Leavening Agent
You will have some pretty flat cookies without baking soda or baking powder! Just like you’ll have a “flat” spending plan without that leavening agent.

The leavening agents for your budget are the values, dreams, aspirations, people and things that are essential and meaningful to you living fully alive. You identified them in Key ingredient #1-the sweet stuff!

Get your list out (your 3x5 cards or the hearts) and look at how you can tie your leavening agents to the categories of spending you have. For instance most of us have a spending category that covers housing. That can feel like a huge monthly expense that seems to drag on forever. Try tying or labeling your housing category to a value or dream of yours. Example: “My Sanctuary” or “Our Family Safe Haven”.

Here’s another example:
Car Insurance: “Protection when needed”
Debt Reduction: “Future Home” or future (whatever an aspiration or dream you have)

Do this with all of your categories of spending in your budget. Don’t forget to include “spending” of savings, retirement and self care. A well rounded spending plan includes all of the key ingredients of your unique winning recipe. Enjoy!