why i love being on a budget

Last week we bought my dream car — with cash! I realize a minivan might not be everyone's dream car, but I absolutely love them (and if you have small children, I will definitely try to convince you that they're the best). I mean, the doors open automatically when I press a button. Who doesn't want that? Rooney says this one is “fancy” because her window goes down. And she's right, because the blinker turns off automatically after I complete my turn, which was not the case with our last van. Ha!

We saved for this purchase for 12 months, and it feels amazing to hit such a big goal together. How'd we do it? Mostly just saying we wanted (needed) to, and then being intentional with the "extra" money we gained through tax refunds and when Rooney transitioned from daycare to kindergarten. That money could have been eaten up several different ways, but we were focused on this goal.

Budgeting can be a touchy subject, but it has given us way more than it’s taken away. Budgeting is basically just deciding beforehand how you’re going to spend your money. It's really that simple. What do you want your money to do? What do you want? A cleaning lady? A vacation? To work part-time? Sure, you might not have enough money for everything you want (been there!), but that's where you determine your priorities and what's really important to you.

Budgeting is not handcuffs. It's freedom to spend your money in a certain way, and less stress every time you spend money (because you already planned how you were going to spend it).

Do you have a budget? If not, what holds you back?