Financial mental games

by Vicki Simons
(USA)

Have you ever met someone who likes to play financial mental games? It's amazing observing the way they justify or rationalize their spending habits, their lack of a budget, etc.

It hurts them but they may not realize how much -- and they may make excuses.

Granted, having a spending plan and sticking to it can be hard, especially when emergencies come up or if you are just a free-wheeling type of person. Maybe you don't want to be pinned down in your spending.

So, let me briefly describe a family who decided not to live according to a budget for a whole year:
* They didn't track their expenses.
* They didn't know, by category, if they were under, above or right on target with their spending.
* They started to live paycheck to paycheck and Just Over Broke.
* If a bill came due, they shuffled some stuff onto a credit card.
* Without a sure way to pay off the debt monthly, they ended 2013 owing money (something they hadn't experienced the year before).

Don't play financial mental games with yourself. If this article describes you, you can change. We wish you well.