This may be the most misunderstood aspect of financial planning there is.
Go to main Forum page » on HumbleDollar for discussion. There are some incredible comments there you won’t want to miss. 😱
AUTHOR: R Quinn on 1/02/2026
If a budget helps you manage money, provides a sense stability, etc., go for it, but…
recognize a budget doesn’t do any of the things often attributed to it, it doesn’t do anything. Doing or not doing something is up to the individual…including sticking to a budget🤑
Several times I have looked up the question, “why do I need a budget.” The answer always comes back implying the budget somehow actually does things without human involvement, that it magically changes individual behavior.
For example:
“A budget makes sure your money supports your goals instead of leaking away unnoticed.” With a budget “Credit card debt is easier to avoid.”
“A budget tells you where your money is actually going.” “It prevents financial surprises,” “It gives peace of mind.”
“You don’t need a budget in the sense that it’s a rule everyone must follow—but for most people, a budget is a tool that gives control and clarity.”
Here is a good one for the HD group. “A budget replaces anxiety with confidence because it will tell a person if they’re saving enough, If they can afford something, When they can retire.” How the heck does a budget do that?😱
Does a budget make sure of anything, tell you anything or prevent anything? Nope, that’s up to the individual and their self-discipline.
I never put pencil to paper or keyboard to spreadsheet to develop a budget. It was not because there was so much money that spending was of no consequence, but because our net income (after saving) told us how much we could spend and no matter how we spent it, the overall limit was still there. We just didn’t spend what we could not pay for immediately.
My concern about focusing on a budget as some kind of solution to financial problems is that it may make some people overconfident and may stress others.
Can a budget be so detailed that the larger goals are missed? Like seeing the trees, but missing the forest? 😢
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
I saw this dust up on HD the other day and found it amusing. A lot of good comments. It took me back to my early working days over 50 years ago. I worked in collections for mobile home loans and did a fair number of repossessions. This was in the days of paper and file folders and when I went to an onsite visit with a delinquent account it usually meant I grabbed the trailer unless they could come up with a chunk of cash. I used the file to learn where all the person had credit and where they kept the mobile home. That folder taught me that some people did not know that their monthly payments were impossible to maintain. There wasn’t enough income to do it. Their minds simply did not do the simple math required. Had they saw on paper what I saw, they would have known the position they were in. I had their budget when I pulled their credit app.
So there is some truth to a budgeting lesson that can teach many people what they can buy and can’t buy. You do it in your head and I do it in my head but there are people who need that visual hard copy to know what can be spent and what is too much.
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