The budget is not the goal.

A budget is important. But it is not the MOST important. Don’t get me wrong, a budget is a foundational tool to reaching all the goals that require financial literacy and awareness. It allows you to see what you’re capable of given your current monetary resources, where you can change, and what you need to strive for so that you can use your money like the tool it is. A budget is there as a touch point, a place to track this one aspect out of the multiple things we need in life to fulfill and strive for our ever- changing goals. But the goal is not the budget.

Where we falter is when we make our budget and its sometimes-inconsequential expense category figures the end-all-be-all, final say on our actions, without any consideration of how these short-term goals affect us in the long-term.

Yes, it might feel great to keep whittling away an expense category that gets higher and higher each year (groceries come to mind for so many of us), but what do me gain (more money in our pocket) and what do we lose (less energy, brain fog, and, overall, lackluster health).

Which is why an ever-evolving, values-based budget is always the way to go. You should be able to look at your expenses and your core values, whether it’s outdoor activities, family time, or charity, and see those values reflected in the Reader’s Digest version of your itemized expense list. 

If you’re ready to dive in to creating a budget that supports, but doesn’t control, your life, I want to hear about all your favorite, life-giving, values-aligned expenses that you are bringing front and center in your December budget!