Something that is very important when setting up a budget is understanding the difference between wants and needs. We all have needs that must be taken care of to live. We have to eat, have a place to live, and have clothes. In order to keep our home up, we need gas, water, and electricity. Depending on circumstances, we may need a car to get to and from work or a uniform for a specific job. Needs must be met before wants.
Wants are things we do for fun. It is okay to have and get wants as long as our needs are met and we have the ability to purchase the wants without over extending ourselves. We have to be careful when assessing what is a want and what is a need. For example, we NEED to eat, but we may WANT to eat out once a week. We NEED to have clothes, but we may WANT to wear the most expensive name brands.
Also, we must be careful about being wasteful. Do you have a light on in your house that doesn't need to be on? Have you ever watered the lawn in the rain? We still need to have water and electricity, we just don't need them in certain circumstances.
Before we spend our money, we should ask ourselves if we can maintain our current standard of living without it. If we can, then it is probably a want. Are all of your needs taken care of? Are you able to afford it? How bad do you want it? All these things should be addressed before purchasing a want.
Showing posts with label play. Show all posts
Showing posts with label play. Show all posts
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Here comes the Fun!
Buck is back and our subject today is one of my favorite. Fun account.
The first thing about this account is that you must have your Main account and Tithing account established and working right before the Fun account can be created.
This is the account designed specifically for our immediate wants. Decide how much each paycheck you can put aside for fun. Try to put at least something (even if it is only a dollar) in the account. We split our fun account between Susan and me and the kids. We use the kids funds to buy their birthday and Christmas presents. As they get older, we will use it to give them their allowances.
The amount that Susan and I get, we can spend on whatever we want. The other person is not allowed to question or get angry with what we buy with our Fun account. I usually like to spend my Fun cash as soon as payday comes. Susan will save hers to make big purchases for herself. We, also, found this allows us to actually buy gifts for each other. Before we started this account, all gifts, dinner, and things like this came from our joint account. We would have to know what the other spent so we wouldn't go over. Now we have our own money to spend on each other or treat each other. It makes it more personal that way.
We found it best to split our play account so that we each get the same amount no matter who makes the money. Decide what you think is the best method to split up the Fun account for your marriage/partnership. Don't forget to give some to the children if you have any.
This principle is talked about in both "Richest Man in Babylon" and "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind."
One last thing, I want you to know. When you are ready to set up this account, have FUN!
- Buck
The first thing about this account is that you must have your Main account and Tithing account established and working right before the Fun account can be created.
This is the account designed specifically for our immediate wants. Decide how much each paycheck you can put aside for fun. Try to put at least something (even if it is only a dollar) in the account. We split our fun account between Susan and me and the kids. We use the kids funds to buy their birthday and Christmas presents. As they get older, we will use it to give them their allowances.
The amount that Susan and I get, we can spend on whatever we want. The other person is not allowed to question or get angry with what we buy with our Fun account. I usually like to spend my Fun cash as soon as payday comes. Susan will save hers to make big purchases for herself. We, also, found this allows us to actually buy gifts for each other. Before we started this account, all gifts, dinner, and things like this came from our joint account. We would have to know what the other spent so we wouldn't go over. Now we have our own money to spend on each other or treat each other. It makes it more personal that way.
We found it best to split our play account so that we each get the same amount no matter who makes the money. Decide what you think is the best method to split up the Fun account for your marriage/partnership. Don't forget to give some to the children if you have any.
This principle is talked about in both "Richest Man in Babylon" and "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind."
One last thing, I want you to know. When you are ready to set up this account, have FUN!
- Buck
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