Does the word budget remind you of the word diet' Deprived. Restricted. Desires denied.Do you imagine that if you had all the money you wanted, you wouldnt need a budget anymore' All of those gross feelings about money usually stem from feeling forced to use it in ways you dont want to.Just like diets, budgets can work if you stick to them. Its sticking to them is the problem.Habits die hard, and using willpower every day to do the right thing depletes us. In one famous study cited in "The Power of Habit," students were asked to skip a meal, then were brought into a room where they were given a bowl of hot, fresh chocolate chip cookies and a bowl of radishes. Some students were asked to indulge in the cookies, while others were asked to eat the radishes and avoid the cookies sitting right there on the table, smelling so delicious. Then, when given a difficult puzzle to solve, the students who resisted the urge to eat the treat gave up far sooner than their counterparts who got to indulge their craving. In a different study, social psychologist Roy F. Baumeisterfound there is limited space in our mental capacity to exert self-control. But how does this tie into budgeting and spending'Stressing about money actually depletes cognitive function and makes us grouchy, unhappy people who are less likely to stay on track with multiple life goals. New studies are showing that the constant worry about finances can lower your IQ.What if, instead of trying to figure out how much money you have left to spend dailyfor lots of different categories for the rest of the monthyou only had to check one account to see how much money was in it' Decision-making made easy: If you have enough, you can spend it and if you don't, you wait until next month. No more fumbling with a half-dozen envelopes full of cash or doing calculations in your head.The first time I automated my basic finances was after reading Ramit Sethi's book "I Will Teach You to Be Rich" several years ago. The idea of using technology to take control of my finances was a revelation at the time. When I combined the books strategies with techniques I learned from DailyWorth's Money Clarity Course, everything clicked into place and the stress I used to feel about daily money transactions completely disappeared.I no longer budget. I don't even manage. I just monitor.Let me show you how:SEE ALSO:How growing up poor influenced the way I've managed money my whole lifeStep 1: Create a separate 'bill pay' checking accountThis account needs to be separate from your personal spending (Spend) checking account.This is the account from which you will automate payment of all your bills. Every month, I put all possible expenses onto my travel rewards card and set up an auto-pay for the full balance out of my bill pay account.Any recurring bills that I cant put on my card get set up as auto-pays straight out of my Bill Pay account. I know roughly what all of these bills will be, based on past usage.Step 2: Save up a cash bufferI keep a buffer of cashat least one full month's worth of billsin my Bill Pay account at all times, just in case any bill is unexpectedly large. It may take a little time to save this up, but do it as quickly as you can to get your system in place.Step 3: Batch your billsSplit your bills into two roughly even groups. Then call all issuers and ask that the due dates for the first batch be switched to the 5th of the month and the due dates for the second batch be switched to the 20th of the month. Now your bills are batched.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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