Spending Plan vs Budget: Only one gives you time and money freedom.

A Spending Plan is a secret tool to help you define and design a life you love living. Your Spending Plan is a visual tool that allows you to align your finances with your goals and dreams. A budget is only about paying bills and making do with what you have.

Most everyone has heard of a budget. It's all about money: you've got x amount coming in and x amount going out. The goal is generally to balance your budget. BORING! (And sometimes even a little bit scary.) No wonder most people don’t manage their finances to a budget.

A budget for most people feels restrictive and limiting and they have to convince themselves to follow it. Or they don't do a budget and then think, "oh, I'm just not good with money." Which, in turn, creates behaviors and beliefs that further limit financial success. A budget focuses on the money, and there never seems to be enough. Of course, it’s easy to think, ”I can't afford that,” based on the numbers in your budget. No one wants to schedule a time to sit down and feel hopeless about their financial situation.

If you have the belief, "I'm not good with money," ask yourself this: “Is it that I’m not good with money? Or is it that I don't want to feel bad about my financial situation?" When you recognize that "I'm not good with money" is a belief that drives your thoughts, and in-turn your feelings, only then can you find the root cause of your beliefs and change them. In the meantime, never let the word budget darken your thoughts again. From now on, replace any budget with my term Spending Plan, refocusing on results and not current conditions, You'll be amazed at the difference in how you think and feel. When you change your belief, you'll focus on positive results.

A Spending Plan with a positive mindset feels expansive and hopeful. A Spending Plan is your secret tool to help you achieve your goals and dreams. When you’re clear and determined, it’s easy to make choices that allow you to arrive at your desired destination. You realize that your Spending Plan is the roadmap that guides you there. You look forward to your planning time. You have the mindset of "How can I?” when you sit down to plan. It becomes a puzzle to solve and not a judgment on your value as a human. A Spending Plan, my friend, is the outline for your way to a Life You Love Living.

A Spending Plan also lays the foundation for advance planning and helps you allocate funds for large expenses such as property taxes, vacations, children's education, etc. When monitoring your Spending Plan consistently, you organically increase your financial literacy. When you increase your financial literacy, you feel more confident and are able to understand what financial specialists are saying and recommending.

How would a Spending Plan accelerate your journey to achieve your desired lifestyle? If you want to shorten the learning curve to create your Spending Plan, check out “Step into Mindful Money Mastery Personal or Business.” I’m excited to share what I learned the hard way to help you accelerate your journey to a life you love living.

Leslie Crumley

Personal Finance Strategist

Structured Success, Inc.