To Budget, Or Not To Budget

This is a topic that most likely concerns everyone and most likely getting it right is a constant struggle.

The current economical situation worldwide is worrying. I don't think there are many countries where the situation is exceptionally good and more and more people are living in poverty or struggling to make ends meet.

Even though finance is in my blood, which is why I have have a degree in this area, but I'm not a big fan of personal budgets. Must sound strange, but I prefer to control my expenses, then adjust the rest accordingly. Knowing what you can afford is key if you don't want to blow up your bank account and buying what you need, instead of what you want is also a plus.

Another way to keep things in balance is to increase and monitor your earnings. Easier said than done, but it's not impossible. We live in a digital era, there are various ways to earn, all you need is a good internet connection, some knowledge and discipline. The last one is key, no matter how insignificant it seems. It requires some effort and this is when most of the dreamers fail.

Anyway, last week, browsing through our indigenous online marketplace, I came across a product that stuck in my mind and didn't let me move on. It's not a unique case, it's happened before. The good thing about me is that I'm not an impulsive buyer, don't buy anything in a split second and always give myself some time to think if it's a good idea to buy the item and if it's the best deal. This means if I decide to buy it, I ran a search first, to see if I can get a better deal and only buy after. This routine helps avoid overpaying. After some thinking and research, I decided to buy it.

Yeah, I said I'm not a fan of budgeting, yet here it is, I bought a planning budget package. The truth is, it was on sale and I got an extra voucher, so ... why not? I thought maybe I can improve my finances once I have such a lovely planner.

I wasn't expecting it to come in such a lovely box. The box itself is a beauty with the lovely flowers on it, but the real surprise comes when you open it.

The most important item is the planner itself, of course.

It comes with a lovely floral hard cover, which I love. It's colorful and gives me a good feeling just by looking at it.

Most of the planners are ruined by default, as they have the calendar set already and if you don't use it right away, it becomes outdated. Buying a planner mid-year means you miss out half a year and can only use half of it, but not in this case.

Here you have a DIY calendar, which makes it more fun. There are two similar pages here.

On the next page, you have a To Do list with Priorities and Other Tasks, giving you the opportunity to list what's important and needs to be done. You have a section for notes after which comes an Habit Tracker section, which I could not figure out yet what it is.

Then you have 12 monthly plan pages, to plan your whole year.

After that it comes the budget plan, which is the main purpose of this pack. You have incomes, where you can list them with date, name and amount. Shopping list, which I suppose it refers to big items as there's no space for small and every day things. After that comes expenses section, divided between fixed expenses, which usually refers to utility bills and housing expenses and other expenses, which are not recurring. At the bottom there's the most important section, which is the balance, where you have estimated, actual and difference. This section is the most important in my opinion and it gives you an indication of how well you're able to follow the plan or not.

Then you have the weekly plan pages, with to do list, habit tracker and personal notes as well.

I didn't count them, but I suppose there's a page for each day, so you can write down and follow your daily plan, which can track your step count, water intake, priorities and harvest, which I confess, I have no idea what it is.

At the end of the planner, you have several dotted, but otherwise blank pages for notes.

I must admit, I wasn't expecting such a detailed planner. It's like you're planning and tracking your every move and not just from financial point of view.

To make the whole experience more interesting and motivate you as well, it comes with a set of stickers, a ball point pen and 4 magnets.

You get 8 sheets of stickers and honestly, this needs some studying as I have no idea where to use them. Some are for the calendar, which is obvious, some for to do list, some are to mark appointments like dentist, some to mark pay day, track your liquid consumption, steps, mark months, but some are ... for God knows what.

This is the funniest. You have a set of stickers to motivate your own self and to reward yourself too.

I paid 6 euros for this pack and was free shipping as well. It well worth it in my opinion.

While I was looking at it, was thinking this is not just for tracking, planning your budget and for visual effect, but it can also be educational. I know many people who have absolute no idea how to handle their finances and go from one dept to another, always borrowing money in advance. Obviously such a planner alone won't change much, these plans must be followed by discipline and self control, but it is a start for those who'd like to change their finances and spending habits.

Nowadays banking apps are more than just for banking. You can follow your budget and track your expenses, as well as your savings and income, but making notes, plans and to do lists is not possible.

Although it may look like a scrapbook or a silly notebook for schoolgirls, it's much more than that. If I want to be honest, I'm not quite ready for it, I need to do a bit of studying and figuring out, but I can see it's going to help me get better at saving and not only.

Do you have a planner? Do you have a monthly budget written down, what you follow each month?

If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides: