Photo by: iwona kellie

Is there something you want?

Are your needs being met first?

How much does it cost?

How long would you be willing to save up for it?

Could you pick a specific date as a goal?

How much would you have to set aside every month to have that much by then?

Can you afford that amount? (If not, could you extend your goal date?)

Where would that money come from?

Is there something you value less than your goal that you’re currently spending money on?

It could come from that.

Make it a category on your budget and set that money aside every month.

Prioritize it on your budget between something you value less, and something you value more.

(Crazy idea, I know.)

Stick with it, and it will be yours.

No guilt, no debt.

Photo by: schmilblick

Months ago the wife and I decided to cancel our TV.

This was a big decision for us, and I actually fought against it for a while. I was a bit of an addict.

What was interesting was that we knew that TV was a Want, but it was actually part of our Needs on our budget.

Now, TV is obviously not a need (for most people), but the bill for the TV was attached to the Internet (which is very much a need for us) and the telephone. It was just easier to lump the same bill into the same category – so it hid there for a long time.

But it wasn’t accurate, so we made it a Want.

With a new and more correct perspective, it was easier to realize we wanted our 95% going to more important and more satisfying things.

(Also, pretty much anything we want to watch is available on the internet these days.)

I’m not saying everyone should cancel their TV, but maybe you can re-look at your “Needs” and see if any “Wants” are hiding in there.

Photo by: Gilles Gonthier

If I learned anything from elementary school, it’s that groundhogs have the cosmic ability to predict how long winter will last depending on their shadow.

This supernatural event only happens on the 2nd of February every year. If the groundhog sees his shadow he goes back down his hole to hide from six more weeks of winter. The universe will have spoken.

We have no ability to change whether winter will last another six weeks or not – that is up to the cosmic groundhog – but you do have the ability to choose to follow a budget for the next six weeks. Try signing up for One Month of Budgeting for some extra help:

If you’re reading this in a reader, you can click through here to see the form.

(Ok, the One Month of Budgeting emails only last for five weeks, but you still get six emails.)

—

PS – I was going to include a bunch of mildly obscure references to the movie Groundhog Day, to drive my wife nuts, but I deleted them.

Oh what the heck:

Watch that first step… it’s a doo-hoo-sie! Am I right, or am I right? Right? Right?