In addition to your regular, everyday budget, it helps to have an emergency budget on hand in case of a job loss or some other big financial hit. On the flip side of that coin, you could also keep a “happy budget” to motivate your financial goals.
Money image from Shutterstock
Money can’t buy you happiness, but depending on how you use it, it can make your life pretty comfortable. Studies show we don’t need a million dollars to be comfortable either. According to the research, we just need $US75,000 ($104,164). Even that amount is subjective, though. The goal of a “happy budget”, as Business Insider calls it, is to lay out your own numbers.
They profiled a family who instituted this idea to motivate their own earnings goals. They took their regular budget, then compared it to what their own ideal, comfortable spending would look like.
Let’s say you cut back your restaurant spending to $100 a month with your current budget, but living comfortably, you’d dine out every weekend. Your “ideal” budget numbers might be $300, then. You can calculate this for every category, then see what kind of salary it would take to make that budget happen. When you know that number, you have something to shoot for, and that makes your financial goals a little more present. For more detail, head to the link below.
How a separate ‘happy budget’ helps a couple earning $US142,000 ($197,218) a year achieve their goals [Business Insider]
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