Maybe you’ve been thinking of getting control over your finances. It’s a great intention and well worth the effort to build a strong foundation for your financial future. The conventional wisdom is to start by coming up with a financial plan or budget.
Budgeting seems easy enough in theory: Track your income and expenses. But it’s all too easy not to follow through with a conventional budget. A key reason for this lack of follow-through is failure to do the holistic pre-budgeting preparation crucial for creating and sticking with a financial plan. Here are five pre-budgeting steps that will help make your next financial plan a long-term success.
Look Inward
For long-term success, it’s important to look at your relationship with money and challenge any thinking or behavior that’s undermining your personal finances. What might have to change for you to reach the life you deserve? Your increased clarity will help guide your decision-making and keep you on track.
Begin Healing
Many people have had pain and trauma surrounding money. Hard times can happen during childhood or adulthood and may affect your sense of safety or control. These experiences harm all dimensions of well-being and need to be recognized—not only because they continue to cause pain but also because they may influence future decisions. Acknowledging the past allows you to move beyond it. Awareness of lessons learned and personal resilience is empowering.
Take Ownership
No one will ever have a greater stake in your financial well-being than you do. It pays to be aware of your financial situation and tend to it. A little attention now may prevent disaster down the road. So, you can probably see the importance of having a place and time to be with your money on a regular basis. The time you spend on your finances doesn’t have to be stressful or full of drudgery; you can make it a self-care ritual by creating an ideal environment and state of mind.
Try Teamwork
The people in your life shape your financial obligations and decisions. When folks have a chance for participation and buy-in, resentment and sabotage of a plan are less likely. And by making an effort to minimize conflict and to respect one another’s boundaries, it’s easier for everyone to stay on board with a financial plan. Consider investing time in team building before you finalize your budget.
Make a Commitment
A written pledge to follow through with your financial plan can inspire and motivate you. Spend some time reflecting. Include your reasons and potential rewards for sticking with your plan. You can read the pledge by yourself or with your team of loved ones whenever you feel yourself losing resolve or veering off track.
Wrap-up: A Whole Person Financial Strategy
Going forward, you’ll be creating and living with your budget. You’re more likely to have success because of the time and thought you’ve invested in planning.
Keep learning and growing in the financial dimension of your life. Maintain your progress. Realize setbacks are normal, and don’t let them stop your long-term growth. Review these steps to stay on track.
These steps take into account the whole person, unlike conventional approaches to personal finance that focus on numbers. After all, you’re a human being, not a calculator. If you’re like everyone else, you’re fallible, bruised in a few places, and subject to impulses and spending temptations. But you’re also resilient, creative, and capable of great determination. Your financial strategy should reflect all these possibilities and be a powerful tool to help you to reach your goals. And, while you’re preparing for a better financial future, don’t be surprised if you notice more peace and wholeness in other areas of your life too.
Start or Join a Conversation
Thanks so much for your dedication to learning more about budget considerations and financial well-being.
Many different perspectives are possible about steps to take before preparing a budget. Your thoughts are key to this community. Please share them here. If you don’t already have an opinion at the top of your mind, consider sharing your views on one of these points:
- Do you think it’s worthwhile to spend some time considering your relationship with money before coming up with a budget?
- Did any of the pre-budgeting steps seem especially valuable to you? If so, how do you think they might help make budgeting more relevant and successful?
Do you have a question that wasn’t addressed in this post? Comment below, and I’ll give you my best answer.
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Notice
This post is for educational purposes only and is not for legal or other professional advice. You should consult your own attorney, financial advisor, health provider, or mental health professional concerning any issues in these areas of expertise. Please understand facts and views change over time. Posts reflect the author’s understanding at the time of writing. While maintained for your information, archived posts may not reflect current conditions.