Why I Write.
For many of us, the idea of using a monthly budget to guide our money life was not something we grew up with. If you are like me growing up, a budget was nothing more than a thing no one ever really talked about. By the time I was 22 years old and out of college my concept of people who had money fell into about 2 categories.
- Doctors, lawyers, and others in high-paying professions.
- Lucky people who must have inherited money or were born into wealthy families.
Of course, this isn’t true however without any other counter information growing up my imagination filled in the gaps. As I got older and began to see some of my peers slowly building better lives my questions (and curiosity) began. What were they doing to achieve their standard of living? Dual income? That helps, but I also knew many of these people didn’t come from wealthy backgrounds, and, their work as teachers or non-profit professionals didn’t align with my preconception that they had high-paying careers either. So how did so many of my peers build better lives while I was scraping the couch cushions just to be able to take the family out for dinner?
As the years progressed I began learning that having some money is, comparatively speaking, rarely about having a high-paying career or having “lucky” family circumstances. Certainly, those people do exist but as the data shows, being a millionaire in the United States today comes down to doing the little things correctly over a long period of time. Most millionaires in the US today have a propensity for saving, a natural aversion to debt, and most importantly, the ability to choose what they want most, over what they want now.
In the end, I learned that living a comfortable financial life had nothing to do with luck or professions. It had everything to do with intentionality, discipline, and 5th-grade math.
- Intentionality – Pay attention to your money.
- Discipline – Learn how to say no when an expense is not in your budget.
- 5th Grade Math – If you spend more than you earn you get debt. Debt is not good.
What is a budget? A budget is how you achieve a dignified financial life. If you are struggling to pay your bills or save for the future or, if you simply feel that there must be a better way check out this blog. A budget is more than you might think. As I’ve learned over the last 20 years, a budget is an indispensable tool for financial freedom.
Sincerely,
Budget Coach USA
Life
We love to camp on weekends and holidays. Not in a tent. We did that with the kids years ago. We’ve graduated to RV camping now. We’ve also taken up cruising. The ocean kind. Right now we’re knocking Caribbean islands off the list and enjoying the journey. Some day maybe Europe but to be honest there are so many great places to visit in the United States like the National Parks.
We have 2 kids, both grown and finding their way in life. We’ve been married for 33 years.
Some Photos
We enjoy camping and traveling when we can. Photos below include our family in Breckenridge Colorado, my wife and I on a Caribbean Cruise, Camping near Mammoth Cave National Park, and a way-back picture from college!
