As I continue my journey toward financial freedom, I’ve learned a lot. This week’s lesson has been the distinction between “I don’t have enough money” and “It’s not in my budget.”
A few days ago I had a conversation about getting a new piece of clothing. I said, “It’s not in my budget.” She said, “Well when I pay you back, you will.”
And I realized that no, that repayment is already accounted for in my budget. I have a line item for clothing that is absolutely unrelated to the money that I loaned her.
Even better than that, I have plenty of money in my account. Getting the $17 piece of clothing wouldn’t put me over the edge – or even anywhere close to the edge. But all of that money is accounted for in other line items. It’s spoken for. And I’m perfectly happy about that.
For the first time I feel like I’m in control because I understand where my money is going and what it’s meant to accomplish. Perhaps when I have replenished my clothing fund, I’ll get that new item. Or maybe I won’t. Because lately I’ve been having a lot of fun asking myself, “Would I rather have this, or would I rather be out of debt?”
It’s become a game. Not only am I starting to have fun, I’m winning! 🙂
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