{"id":1388,"date":"2007-10-17T10:58:58","date_gmt":"2007-10-17T17:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/2007\/10\/17\/the-spending-plan-budgeting-for-non-budgeters\/"},"modified":"2019-10-07T23:44:53","modified_gmt":"2019-10-08T06:44:53","slug":"the-spending-plan-budgeting-for-non-budgeters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/the-spending-plan-budgeting-for-non-budgeters\/","title":{"rendered":"The spending plan: Budgeting for non-budgeters"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve never been able to keep a budget. They’re a great tool for many people, but for me a budget is a recipe for failure. It’s too fussy. I can’t stick to it. When I don’t stick to it, I feel guilty. When I feel guilty, I want to spend more money. Still, I’ve found it’s helpful to have some sort of written financial plan. Over the past few years I’ve developed what I call a “spending plan”.<\/p>\n

To me, a budget is a detailed itinerary. A spending plan, on the other hand, is just a list of places I’d like to go. It doesn’t have the same sort of rigidity that I associate with a budget. When I create a spending plan, I tally upcoming income and expenses, and then use these numbers as a guideline for determining my financial direction.<\/p>\n

<\/span>My Spending Plan<\/span><\/h2>\n

I suppose it would be easiest to just show you an actual spending plan I drew up three years ago. (This document is an important piece of financial archaeology. It’s the first spending plan I ever made, and it’s the first sign that I was ready to start getting rid of my $35,196 in debt.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As you can see, I began by listing my debts in the order that I wanted to repay them. (This was before I knew about the debt snowball<\/a>.) Next, I listed my expected sources of income. Finally, I brainstormed a possible plan of attack.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact that I will meet the goal I set for myself in this plan, my path to this destination has been different than I had intended. Surprise expenses occurred. I didn’t adhere to the plan as well as I’d hoped. My income projections were too optimistic. The bathroom remodel cost twice as much as I had anticipated. Because of these things, I’ve made it a habit to draft a new spending plan every few months. This allows me to compensate for changing circumstances and changing priorities.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Your Spending Plan<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you, too, are wary of budgets, consider using a simple spending plan to give direction to your finances. The example above is more involved than it needs to be. Most of my spending plans now are about half the size. When drafting your spending plan, be sure to do the following:<\/p>\n