Many people think budgeting equals bondage. I want to prove that it’s actually the opposite – budgeting equals freedom.

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. – Proverbs 22:7

The truth is, NOT BUDGETING equals bondage. Never knowing if you can afford something, always living in stress, fighting about money, feeling guilt when you make purchases, fear, and debt – this is bondage. Budgets brings freedom.

Here are three reasons you need a monthly budget:

1. BUDGETING MEANS I GET TO DO WHAT I WANT
   Hear me out! You may think NOT BUDGETING means you get to do whatever you want. This simply isn’t true. Spending money you don’t have doesn’t mean you get to do whatever you want. It means you’re living a lie and most likely going deeper and deeper into debt to do it. This means you’re going further and further into not being able to do what you really want to do because you’re always making payments. You’re fooling yourself. Pretending we can do whatever we want is not the same as actually being able to do it.

   John Maxwell says, “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it all went.”

   When I plan out my expense and live according to a plan, I actually get to do what I to do. If I want to go to Starbucks seven days a week, I budget for it, I live within my plan, and I can! If I want to [fill in the blank], I budget for it,I live within my plan, and I can! I can budget for whatever I want and live guilt free, without having to catch up or make payments. Budgeting means I actually get to do what I WANT to do. I plan for it, save for it, work my plan, and actually do what I want to do.

2. BUDGETING REDUCES STRESS
   People thinking budgeting is stressful and difficult. It is! It takes work and often times I’m stressed because I don’t want to face my own financial reality. Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away though. What’s more stressful is never knowing if I can afford something. What’s more stressful is going further into debt with no plan or discipline. What’s more stressful is the weight of being out of control financially. That stress is significantly reduced when I live according to a budget. When I’m living within my means, according to a plan, doing the things I know I want to do, my stress level is reduced. Money can still be stressful but budgets reduce stress. Once I’ve done the hard work of making a budget, I simply work the plan, and enjoy my month.
3. BUDGETING LEADS TO FREEDOM
   Budgeting means you’re in control. You get to choose. You set the course. No more excuses. This doesn’t mean there will never be set backs – there will. But living according to a budget means you can prepare for those.Financial freedom doesn’t come from having more, it comes from having margin. And margin comes from making a plan.When I was in grade school, the corner gas station had aisles of candy. This was a frequent stop for me on my way home from school. I would pile up the candy I wanted, plop it on the counter, then sheepishly pull out a pile of change, and hope it was enough to cover it.For many of us, that’s how we’re handling our finances. We never quite know if we have enough. We don’t know if we’re getting ahead or falling behind, always just barely keeping our head above water. There’s a better way. God wants us to grow, take charge of our finances, and learn to live in freedom.

   “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” 1 Corinthians 13:11

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you have a monthly budget? Why/why not?