So the financial literacy team from one of the largest banks in my country came over to deliver an assembly talk on financial literacy. Just as you might have expected, they shared about the need to save, spend and share your money. My teenagers were suitably engaged.
What struck me as interesting was how they brought up Kakeibo, the Japanese art of budgeting money. Japanese people used to meticulously plan a budget according to pertinent spending categories and record by hand every transaction. That way, they could easily determine where their money was going and whether they needed to cut down on their purchases so that they could achieve their saving goals.
My wife doesn’t record down by hand her expenses, but she uses an app. There will be hell to pay if I throw away her supermarket receipt by mistake. She will feel as if her world runs out of equilibrium - I’m not exaggerating.
On the other hand, I don’t keep a budget. I just make sure that I save my desired amount of money and pay all my bills on time every month. I also keep a buffer just in case unexpected expenses occur.
I downloaded a budgeting app when my son was born. But I gave up using it after 2-3 months because it was just so tedious lol. Also, I’m quite a careful spender. I don’t earn that much but I’m usually in control of my finances.
So do you keep a budget?