Want to hear some big myths about money and budgeting ideas? Here are 5 shocking false beliefs that you need to know about.
As if the lack of financial education in schools isn’t enough to hijack our relationship with money!? Oh no Sir. Turns out there are many misconceptions about money & budgeting ideas that completely boycott your relationship with money! As an overthinker who worked most of her adult life in the world of finance, I am sharing some ‘food for thought‘ so, you too, have a fighting chance in taking back your financial autonomy.
You are going to learn the biggest misconceptions about budgeting ideas and money. Rethinking these financial misconceptions is going to pave the way for a healthier relationship with your wallet.
If managing your finances feels intimidating, you’re not alone. But using budgeting as a tool for self-control is incredibly powerful, just as is rethinking your old beliefs about money & budgeting ideas. Sure, it takes a little courage and ’embracing the suck’, but it will have you gain control over an always-present part of your life. That’s worth more, don’t you think?
This post covers 5 shocking misconceptions about budgeting ideas that every overthinker should know about.
Budgeting Ideas
Man, if there’s one thing that gets me all fired up, then it’s the lack of emotional and financial teachings in our current educational system. Isn’t it an odd thing when you think of it? Every single one of us has to deal with emotional dysregulation and managing money. This isn’t a skill you only need once for a math test like the Pythagorean formula! Yet, that lesson is taught almost everywhere and considered basic knowledge, while how to keep a budget gets no attention whatsoever!? None! I don’t think this is doing us, ‘mere mortals’, a favor.
Financial autonomy is your only chance against grand companies and countries who’ll convince you to buy things you don’t need with money you don’t have to impress people you don’t like. Sorry for quoting Fight Club, but you get it right?
We believe it is of the utmost importance to develop a healthy relationship with your finances. It should be in your control and your control only. Budgeting is a tool to take that power back. Learning how to navigate personal finance can be scary and daunting, but once you’ve been through the messy parts, it is extremely empowering & life-changing.
To get you started on rethinking finance, here are 5 huge misconceptions about budgeting ideas & money:
#1 Money Is The Root Of All Evil
Boy, let’s start with the biggest one out there, shall we? Oh, how we have linked morality to money! Thank you, Charles Dickens. Images of dark souls in high towers embracing an ultimate Scrooge mindset come to mind, right away.
But money isn’t the driver of human kinds dark behavior, unsafety is. Money is a neutral tool, often compared to a hammer to make this statement: You can use the hammer to demolish a house or to build it up. The hammer might both be able to cause destruction or help you build, but it is fully dependent on the user.
Having a healthy relationship with money, however, is essential for having financial autonomy. Financial autonomy is the ability to organize your life with what’s important to you through your income. Aka, you make the right choices with the money that’s yours in order to get what you want. Self-control and strategy are key here. If you don’t take your money seriously, and even worse, disregard it because you think it makes you a ‘better’ person, well, then energetically speaking, you close yourself off to opportunities of wealth by just your beliefs and words.
Impulsivity, greediness, and narcissism aren’t caused by money. Financial autonomy is not about wanting to control others, but about wanting to feel in control of your own life. There’s nothing evil about wanting to get your shit together. You can be in control and yet still leave people their own choices!? If you believe money will corrupt you, then you will always keep yourself poor in order to stay a ‘good human’.
Money isn’t evil. After all, Scrooge was overcompensating for his unfortunate past, and foolishly forgetting that he needed more than alone financial safety. He might have learned his lesson the hard way, but we don’t have to.
Money isn’t good or bad, it’s just energy. It flows from those who don’t manage it to those who do. Unfortunately, those who manage it are usually big-ass countries & corporations. Time to tell more people about managing money so it can flow to them, won’t you agree?
#2 Budgeting Is Only For Big Expenses
Financial autonomy is about constantly being able to consciously decide. There’s a whole philosophy out there arguing that freedom is choice itself. But if being able ‘to decide for yourself‘ means being free, and deciding requires you to have the facts straight, then doesn’t this mean that the little things on your budget matter too?
Not keeping a budget, or only budgeting the big expenses, means you are letting yourself stay in the dark. Allowing ‘not knowing’ is to decide to stay unconscious. Denial is not going to serve anything. Think about it; just try to guess the number of marketing mind tricks that social media alone is playing on you on a daily basis. Would you really feel the same disregard towards budgeting every ‘tiny little’ expense knowing everyone and their grandma are after your attention and money?
You have earned that! Take it seriously! Budgeting is for every little expense. Knowing what you own and what you don’t, gives you control and financial awareness, and thus you’re less likely to be controlled and played out! It’s only by staying informed that can you make the right decisions. This is why budgeting is so important.
If you’re also an overthinker, then just consider how a simple strategy and budget will give you peace of mind, knowing you did everything you could. All you need is the numbers, so you’re able to make informed decisions. Keep a budget sheet and you have precisely that!
This skill will give you some serious advantages. I think budgeting shows that you take life seriously, and I seriously believe life will reward you for it. Don’t let anybody outsmart you out of your own money and start budgeting today by simply filling out the form below:
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#3 I Don’t Earn Enough To Save
Out of all these shocking misconceptions, I think this is the most painful one. I know from first-hand experience how hard it is to be stuck in bills and debt. Turning every penny around to make it to another month is a horrible experience to endure, and extremely bad for your stress levels and mental health as well.
However, you can still start saving despite having to scrape by. You do have to adjust the parameters of ‘what saving means‘ a little more towards your budget tho. But the goal of preparing for the future stays the same. If life is treating you so hard at the moment, then instead of trying to save your first thousand, think of saving like this:
- Hide a couple of twenties in your house. Do this 5 times and you already have saved your first hundred! Especially in this financial survival mode, having an extra 100 lying around just in case you don’t make the end of the month, is already very relieving for your nervous system.
- Stock up your pantry over an extended amount of time. Make sure you have enough items that can endure time, so that instead of building financial security, you first build some physical security. Making sure you have enough pasta, rice or biscuits in bulk around the house might seem very prepper-mindset, but this savings strategy will reduce your stress levels big time.
- Save up in items that are worth money, but need ‘another step’ to make it valuable. When I was in financial survival mode, I saved many of those bottles that are worth 25 cents when you bring them back to the store. Sure, you have to make a place for it in the shed, but when you just keep piling them up, then somewhere you have a decent amount of saved ‘money’ for a rainy day. It’s the small things you can save, that can save you later down the line.
When you’re scraping by, don’t focus on out-of-proportion, big saving goals. That’s damaging more than it can do good. Instead, set up that budget sheet so you keep track of where you’re at financially, and make sure the pile gets a little less each month. But please, don’t let something as silly as a misconception hold you back from trying to climb out of the mess or potting up a little. It is possible, and you can do it if you want to!
#4 Money Can’t Buy Happiness
Oh boy, this one is so popular, yet so dangerous. It’s most often used to point out that millionaires aren’t automatically happy, and yes, that one is absolutely true. However, having ENOUGH money contributes to stability and comfort, and those are definitely ingredients for a happy life. After all, financial security and being able to pay your bills do improve your mental health and happiness big time!
Having more money will not solve all your problems, correct. But having enough to get by is extremely important for reducing stress and thus improving your well-being. To say money can’t buy happiness is to disregard the importance of financial safety, and if you don’t take that seriously, then you condemn yourself to a life of well, poverty. In case it’s tied to the first misconception, then please let me reassure you: you will not turn into a cat-carrying Bond Villain as soon as you admit that having enough money is important, I promise.
#5 All Savings Should Go Into A Bank Account
Well, ahem, unless you feel like you can have unwavering trust in your bank, do not fall for this one! Financial safety is all about putting your eggs in different baskets and being prepared for worst-case scenarios. Therefore, the old-school way of having all your savings in one bank account isn’t considered ‘financially strategic‘ at all. As many of us unfortunately have found out by now, banks can fall, and thus can your money. If you want to play it safe and smart, then think of a strategy where you can diversify savings and pot them up in different locations. Of course this is with bank accounts, but have multiple. This is the mix I prefer:
- Have a normal cash flow bank account with a card and a savings account. Use the cash flow account for all your bills and income, and the savings account for the more expensive things you want to buy. This way you can save some money in sight for multiple months, and spend it on your target as soon as possible. Start over for the next spending goal whenever you’re ready.
- Have some cash hidden in the house, in multiple locations. It doesn’t have to be much, but on that one day the bank systems go down, you want to be able to have enough to get by. You decide how much that is for yourself.
- Have another full bank account set up (cash flow, card & savings account) that you keep out of sight. Make sure this is at another bank so you don’t see these in your regular banking app and environment. Set it up so that you automatically receive savings from your regular cash flow account, then automatically distribute it to the attached savings account. Never use these accounts, but do always keep the bank card with you. That way, in case of emergencies, you can withdraw money fast.
- At yet another bank, have an out-of-sight high-yield savings account. Start saving up multiple months of living expenses here, and check that this is an account that is very hard to withdraw from. Make sure you have the highest amount of your savings potted up there, as it will at least give you something in return.
Unfortunately, the gap in our educational system will most likely take some time to be filled. This means it is up to you, and you alone, to take your financial autonomy into your own hands. Well. you can also just leave it up to the big guys… But, managing your money with tools like budget sheets and questioning misconceptions will give you a real big advantage and a fair chance to be able to stay in charge, and ahead of the game. Good luck!
