Nope, You Don't Need To Set A Budget To Get Ahead Of Your Finances

The very thought of making a budget is about as enjoyable as deleting memory from your phone.

It's no wonder so few of us ever follow through in creating one. But here's the thing about the ever elusive budget: it's not necessary.

Say what? Seriously. Stop making talking about making one.

"The problem with budgets is that often when people set them, they stop living and creating," Simone Milasas, founder of Joy Of Business and author of 'Getting Out Of Debt Joyfully' told The Huffington Post Australia.

"Rather than creating more and creating the life they truly desire, they stop altogether," Milasas said.

Jordan Siemens

A self-made millionaire, Milasas was once paying off a credit card debt of $187,000. She believes the key to getting out of debt and on top of your finances comes down to self-awareness.

And a big part of self-awareness is about actually living, rather than swearing off everything fun and living life according to a stuffy spreadsheet.

"Awareness is far more important than a budget because you can change anything you're willing to be aware of," Milasas said.

She admits it's not the traditional approach to finances.

"The typical approach is all about logic. Logic would say, create a budget. Logic would say, have a look at your expenses and cut back, get rid of everything that is not a necessity," Milasas said.

Logic would also say, before you can do anything fun, you must get out of debt by taking on another job or working more hours.

"But what personally worked for me was not all about following logic," Milasas said.

Milasas said too many people stop living their life because they are in debt, but what we should be doing instead is living more, creating more and asking what else is possible.

Getty

1. Stop ignoring your finances. "When people are not happy about their finances, they often attempt to avoid them -- almost as if they are hoping the problem goes away. This never works," Milasas said.
2. Take a look at where you are today. "Not from a place of judging you. Rather from the place of, 'Here's where I am. What's it going to take to change this?'" Milasas said.
3. Start a 10 percent account. "Take 10 percent of every dollar that comes in and never spend it. This is a way of honouring you. This is a way of saying 'I am willing to have money,'" Milasas said.
4. Hire someone to organise your finances for you, particularly in the lead-up to tax time. "If having someone else handle the details frees you to focus on creating more, than do that," Milasas said.

ALSO ON HUFFPOST AUSTRALIA

Visit HuffPost Australia's profile on Pinterest.

Suggest a correction