Comments on: The One Sure Fire Way to Fail Miserably in Your Finances

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:46:44 +0000

I like your idea: “Get a close loved one involved.” Recently, I convinced a co-worker to pack her lunch with me. I call her my “no spend buddy.” I find that in the workplace, it is especially helpful to have someone to keep you in check on those extra coffees or lunches!

- Chelsea, Quicken Online

By: T

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:37:39 +0000

Regarding going solo vs. having group support, just be sure that Leeroy Jenkins isn’t on your finance-fixing team.

…Hey, you mention WoW, someone has to bring it up.

By: Rich

Rich — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:59:00 +0000

I completely agree with the idea of budgeting specific categories individually to get started. The idea of controlling everything at once is probably overwhelming for most. I think controlling eating out and entertainment expenses is probably the easiest place to start.

Great post!

By: matt @ Thrive

matt @ Thrive — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:47:21 +0000

Just a quick round of applause for Tip 1, which is one of the biggest ways in which I think people tend to fail at budget making. Thrive’s automatic budget sets very conservative goals for just this reason: most first-time budget makers overshoot and create a budget that they can do for about three months, before they throw up their hands and give up.

A big part of this is actually breakage, which is something that occurs in other realms like dieting as well. It turns out that as soon as people “break” their budget, they abandon it entirely for that budgetary period. So if you give someone some chocolate first thing in the morning, they give up on their diet for the day because it is “ruined” and binge on whatever they want. Same thing with budgets: people cave and overspend, and then as soon as they are over budget, they just keep on spending because it no longer matters.

A dollar is a dollar is a dollar. Don’t let your budget break and you’ll be much more likely to stick with it.

By: Eric J. Nisall

Eric J. Nisall — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:15:44 +0000

It may seem like sarcastic points that were made, but the truth is that many people do think that by ignoring the problem it will go away. The reality is that many do not possess the discipline or the tools necessary to budget or keep on top of their finances. It seems that everyone complains about finances yet a majority want to put of the work of getting their financial house in order. I think Forget New Years, Start Making Your Financial Resolutions Today explains an easier approach as opposed to waiting for a specific point in time to decide to take action.