01: This is a Budget

“Without the fundamentals, the details are useless.”

… James Clear

In 1961, Vince Lombardi began his career with the 10-year losing streak Green Bay Packers with the famous statement,

“Gentlemen, this is a football.”

… Vince Lombardi

He continued to give the veteran players a tour of the field (“This is the end zone.” Etc.), and went on to cover basic skills such as stance and blocking. He then started reviewing the playbook, starting at page one.

Six months later, the Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants 37-0 to win the NFL Championship and continued on to win 5 of the next 6 NFL Championships including the first two Super Bowls.

With that bit of history as a background …

“This is a budget.”

… Gary L. Rau

There are exactly three things you can do with money: save it, spend it or give it away.  These three must be in balance in order to have a successful, satisfying and happy life.

Mathematically:

INCOME =GIVING + SAVING + SPENDING

A budget is your plan for what to do with your income.  You decide each month how much to save, how much to spend and how much to give.  You decide what to save for, spend on and give to.

With a budget, you are in charge!