What comes to mind when you think of the term budgeting?

For many the term brings up feelings of stress and confusion. Some may associate it with financial struggle. Others see it as a limitation or chore.

Budgeting has falsely earned a bad reputation over the years, which is why I am debunking these most common myths about budgeting that I hear from my college peers.

A Budget is Too Restrictive

Having a budget does not mean you can’t buy that Pumpkin Spice Latte or go see that new movie with your friends or buy those new shoes. Believe it or not, budgeting actually gives you more freedom in your spending! By creating a budget, you become more cognizant of where your money is going each month. This allows you to allocate more money towards your priorities, while doing away with those things that are not so important to you.

Budgeting is Too Complicated

I, too, have fallen for this idea in the past. I had seen some of my friends’ extensive excel spreadsheets and thought to myself, “I do not have the brainpower nor the energy for that.” However, not every budget is the same and that is okay! It is all about doing what makes the most sense to you. Even the simplest budget can help you on your financial journey.

I Do Not Have Time to Budget

College is a crazy time. With school, work, extracurricular activities, family, and friends, many students barely have time to sleep, much less time to create and maintain a budget. Thankfully, many tools exist to make the budgeting process easier and more efficient:

Every Dollar: Every Dollar is a budgeting app that takes little time to set up. Once your budget is set, you can input your transactions to ensure you are staying on track.

Mint: Mint can track all of your expenses and put them into categories, such as transportation, food, clothing, etc. It calculates how much you spend on the categories each month and shows you how you are doing based on your budget.

Banks: Many banks also offer budgeting tools!

These are just a few of the many resources out there. Try them out and stick with the one that best suits your needs.

Resources:

Ramsey Solutions. (2018, November 24). 10 Budgeting Myths You May Be Falling For. Retrieved from https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/budgeting-myths