Is budgeting just therapy but for money
If I could convince anyone to do anything in particular, it would at least include therapy and budgeting. Which seems a little wild now that I put them together.
I don't think I need to espouse the incredible benefits of therapy, which are for me emotional literacy, better understanding myself, and comfort in the difficult and/or unknown.
But budgeting feels like it's almost the same thing as therapy, but for money. And arguably, considering the world we live in and it's fucked importance on finance, the benefits are similarly helpful: financial literacy, better understanding your income and expenses, and facing the reality of your financial situation.
I was essentially forced to learn to budget because I ran out of money when I first moved out. My mom gave me some money and said "this is all I'm giving you. You need to learn to budget so this won't happen again" (thanks mom!). It changed how I thought about and interacted with money and made me much more aware of what I was actually putting my time, money, and effort into in general.
The software I used, YNAB, had four rules in their method:
- Give every dollar a job
- Embrace your true expenses
- Roll with the punches
- Age your money (live off last month's income)
If you change this language from money to mental health, it's all pretty much what I value in my therapy and philosophy, too:
- Be mindful and present
- Embrace your true self
- Roll with the punches
- Take time to invest in yourself
ALl of this led me to having the financial security to put money into services, businesses, and people I cared about supporting. The mental space of not worrying about living paycheck to paycheck also really aided in my anxiety and moving me towards eventually starting therapy.
It's been 11 years of budgeting now using YNAB, and I'm super grateful for it. If you can do any kind of double entry bookkeeping, I highly highly recommend it.
And if you haven't started therapy yet, do it! It rules.