The "Fudge it" Budget

If I could offer you the most basic advice, whether you have a little or a lot of income, make a simple spending plan or budget.  It is comonly known as the secret to most millionaires sucess.   The key to making it work is creating a system that suits your lifestyle, and your personality.
If the concept of a budget and counting your dollars feels more like the pain of counting calories on a diet and missing out on cake, then I suggest you try the 'Fudge it budget'.  Don't get excited, you don't get to eat fudge -  in this case to 'fudge' is to fake it till you make it.

The 'Fudge it budget' is based on the GIVE>SAVE>SPEND principle. Decide in advance how much you want to give and save, then live off the rest.  On pay day automatically direct funds to different bank accounts for giving and saving, leaving just enough in your everyday account to live off.   This in its simplest form is a budget or spending plan.   After you have run this way for a while, you can go back and adjust your savings, depending on whether you are running to a surplus or a shortfall.

If you want to take it to the next level, you would work out your actual spending amounts.  Look ahead at your regular bills, mortgage, groceries, education, medical, utilities and other expenses.  This will take a bit of time, but it really helps you identify how much you really need to live off.  It also helps you identify any places where you might be leaking money, and make any adjustments.   I recommend you do this once a year, or if your financial situation changes.

For the keen budgeters, or if you are struggling and leaking money somewhere; go to stage three and track your expenses regularly.  I am busy with our young children and don't really have the time to do this - along with the fact that it doesn't suit my personality.  It is worth the excercise though, even if you do it just for a month or so.  You can really identify areas of weakness in your spending.


Finally, if your finances are still not working for you - then you need more help!  Will blog more about this later.

For those people out there with a lot of income, it is still prudent to have some kind of spending plan.  The goal is to be a great steward of your wealth, and if you can manage your spending, you will have so much more to save for your own future, or give to a world a need.

"If your outgoing exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your down fall" - Unknown.