Excuse Me, But Your Paycheck Is Leaking

Photo by: vrogy

Imagine Jack and Jill running up their hill towards the well. But instead of fetching a pail of water, they’re filling their bucket with their paychecks. With their bucket now full of money, they dash back down the hill (Jack watches his step this time) with plans to pay for the things they need and then get some things they want.

They take their bucket with them wherever they go – the grocery store, the mall, and out to eat. A couple weeks pass and Jack and Jill are ready to climb the hill again for new paychecks, but their bucket is emptier than they both expected. Where did all of that money go?

Sometimes it feels like their bucket is leaking.

If you’re spending too much on things you don’t really value, your 95% is leaking.

Instead of that money going towards what’s important to you, it drips out to the little temporary things of everyday life.

Without a budget, your paychecks could just be splashing around.

One of the major reasons people want to start a budget is they’re worried they’re spending more on certain things than they really want to be. Perhaps they feel they’re consistently spending too much on fast food, or entertainment. Maybe they have a donut habit they want to cut back on. Whatever it may be to them, there’s something else they’d rather spend their money on, and they want a budget to help plug those leaks.

The good news is, when you plug up your leaks, that money starts filling up into categories you value more.

Every once in a while, look over your budget to see where your money is going and see if you can spot any leaks.

If you’re spending more than you want to in one category, move some of those funds to another “more important” category like your short-term savings, or a fun goal you’re working towards, or a credit card balance – anything more important to you.

You’ll be surprised how quickly those plugged leaks start filling up elsewhere – it’s almost as if you had money you didn’t know about.