Melissa, Jack and I were on a flight and a few rows up was a toddler with his mom.
The toddler was in a testing mood that day.
The mom made a bold statement to the boy (mid flight)…
“If you don’t sit down, we’re not going on this trip anymore.”
Of course he didn’t sit down…
As a parent on a flight, this is your worst nightmare.
“People are going to think my child is feral…and they can’t think I’m not a perfect parent.”
But in my short time as a parent, I’ve noticed that as long as you’re trying, the crowd is forgiving.
As long as you’re trying…
When you try, you receive grace.
It’s not expected that you’re perfect.
Because we all know perfection is impossible.
In reality, we can’t control much.
Perfect is debilitating.
It’s impossible.
Everything is a learning experience.
And there is nothing wrong is asking for help.
We all start at square one.
And there is something powerful about staying in that beginner’s mindset.
The key to conquering perfection
Acceptance.
Its about accepting this fact.
You’ll never be perfect…especially with your money!
It just is what it is.
The point of a budget isn’t to make you have no fun with your spending.
It’s to give you some guardrails.
Once you accept this, you free yourself from the mental block of perfection.
Are you ready to commit?
Here’s the cycle I see over and over.
- I’m gonna create my budget this month and follow it perfectly.
- 1 week later… I spent money not like I budgeted.
- F it, budgeting isn’t for me.
The budget that’s created is often an “ideal” budget.
You tell yourself that you feel bad about how you spend $1.5k per month eating out so you budget only $400 next month.
This setup is a recipe for you to break your commitment.
Here’s how this method I’m suggesting comes together to help you conquer perfection.
- I’m going to learn how to create a budget THAT WORKS FOR ME.
- I’m going to accept that I’ll never be perfect with my budget…and that’s okay.
- I’m going to commit to reviewing my finances for 30 minutes once a week (pssst....put it in your calendar for the ultimate hack).
The budget you create needs to work for you.
It’s not a dream budget.
It’s the way you actually are planning to spend your money.
Your guess on how you spend your money won’t be perfect and that’s okay.
As long as your committed and trying, you’ll make progress toward your financial goals.
And trying yields giving yourself grace.
Action Items:
- Accept you’ll never be perfect and this is a learning experience until you find a method that works for you.
- Try a free trial of YNAB and begin to operate based on your cash plan (you'll never be perfect and that's okay!)
- Mark 30 minutes per week in your calendar to review your finances.
