Figured out the trick to finally sticking with a budget after years of failing

I've tried every budgeting app out there over the last 5 years. YNAB, Mint, spreadsheets, the envelope system. Nothing ever stuck for more than 2 weeks. The problem was I'd get excited, track everything for a few days, then forget or get lazy and feel guilty about it. Last month in Austin I just tried something stupid simple. I wrote down my fixed bills on a piece of paper, subtracted that from my monthly income, and then set a single 'fun money' number for the rest. No categories for groceries vs eating out vs gas. Just one lump sum for anything that isn't rent or utilities. It actually worked because I stopped overthinking every dollar. Has anyone else found a weird simple hack that broke their budget slump?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordanm1911d ago

I mean, I get why that feels freeing but honestly that one lump sum method is just asking for trouble. I tried that once and blew through my whole "fun money" in the first week on takeout and a pair of sneakers, then had to eat ramen for two weeks because I had nothing left for groceries. You're basically treating essentials like food as optional, which is a fast track to debt if you don't have a safety net. Maybe it's just me but having no structure at all feels like going from a strict diet to just telling yourself "eat whatever, just don't count calories" and wondering why you gain weight back.

the_sandra11d ago

Respectfully disagree though, that method works great for me when I actually stick to it.