USAF_Vet
Member
The way I look at it is this:
I get paid weekly. My budget is set up weekly. Every dollar from a base 40 hours a week is budgeted, even if it NOT budgeted to a bill or recurring expense. Budgeting money weekly to an emergency fund is still a budgeted expense. Budgeting money weekly to a discretionary fund is still a budgeted expense. I tend to work a lot of overtime. Guess what? The extra income is budgeted to savings and discretionary funds. I don't think some people understand the definition of a budget. The way I see it, if you don't budget every last dollar to something, its money easily wasted or lost. It doesn't mean your income: expense ratio is close to 1:1.
100% of my wife's income is dedicated to savings and discretionary funds.
So yes, I have a discretionary fund that has enough money in it to buy a high end 1911 or AR-15, or pretty much anything else I want to buy. But I also have priorities for that money, like the new tires for the Cadillac I put on today. Or a new Cadillac entirely. Or a family vacation. Or helping out a family member in need. Or Christmas presents for the family. Or sitting untouched in an account slowing gaining interest until we decide we want to spend it on something. Even then, the items we want to buy are prioritized, because we are not willing to skip the family vacation because I decided to blow the discretionary funds on a new gun. I add another line item to the discretionary savings list, based on priorities, and check it against the budget to see if its a higher expense than higher priorities. If it is, I don't get it, or a lower priority gets dropped off the list to accommodate for it. I get it, my financial budgeting system is probably a lot different than most. But it works, even if I have to avoid instant gratification.
A strict budget does not mean I'm broke, or can't afford to drop a lump sum of money toward an unnecessary expenditure. A strict budget, however, allows me to purchase those unnecessary expenditures while still saving for emergencies and discretionary purchases. If $50 a week can be allotted to discretionary funds, and of that is allotted from the discretionary fun to the 'gun on layaway' fund, I'm still setting aside $20 for discretionary savings.
But I think I get it. A lot of people don't have the fiscal responsibility I have, and still want more stuff despite their income: expense being close to that 1:1 ratio. For those people, layaway, rent to own, credit/ financing is a poor choice on top of a series of poor choices. I'm not one of those people.
I get paid weekly. My budget is set up weekly. Every dollar from a base 40 hours a week is budgeted, even if it NOT budgeted to a bill or recurring expense. Budgeting money weekly to an emergency fund is still a budgeted expense. Budgeting money weekly to a discretionary fund is still a budgeted expense. I tend to work a lot of overtime. Guess what? The extra income is budgeted to savings and discretionary funds. I don't think some people understand the definition of a budget. The way I see it, if you don't budget every last dollar to something, its money easily wasted or lost. It doesn't mean your income: expense ratio is close to 1:1.
100% of my wife's income is dedicated to savings and discretionary funds.
So yes, I have a discretionary fund that has enough money in it to buy a high end 1911 or AR-15, or pretty much anything else I want to buy. But I also have priorities for that money, like the new tires for the Cadillac I put on today. Or a new Cadillac entirely. Or a family vacation. Or helping out a family member in need. Or Christmas presents for the family. Or sitting untouched in an account slowing gaining interest until we decide we want to spend it on something. Even then, the items we want to buy are prioritized, because we are not willing to skip the family vacation because I decided to blow the discretionary funds on a new gun. I add another line item to the discretionary savings list, based on priorities, and check it against the budget to see if its a higher expense than higher priorities. If it is, I don't get it, or a lower priority gets dropped off the list to accommodate for it. I get it, my financial budgeting system is probably a lot different than most. But it works, even if I have to avoid instant gratification.
A strict budget does not mean I'm broke, or can't afford to drop a lump sum of money toward an unnecessary expenditure. A strict budget, however, allows me to purchase those unnecessary expenditures while still saving for emergencies and discretionary purchases. If $50 a week can be allotted to discretionary funds, and of that is allotted from the discretionary fun to the 'gun on layaway' fund, I'm still setting aside $20 for discretionary savings.
But I think I get it. A lot of people don't have the fiscal responsibility I have, and still want more stuff despite their income: expense being close to that 1:1 ratio. For those people, layaway, rent to own, credit/ financing is a poor choice on top of a series of poor choices. I'm not one of those people.
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