My friend told me I was budgeting wrong and it actually helped me save more

I used to put all my extra cash into savings every month, thinking that was the smart move. My buddy Mark sat me down after I complained about always feeling broke and said I was being too aggressive. He told me to set aside $50 a month for myself, no questions asked, for whatever I wanted. I thought he was crazy at first, like I'd waste it on dumb stuff. But after 6 months of doing this in Austin, I actually had more in savings because I stopped feeling deprived. The $50 for takeout or a video game kept me from impulse buying bigger stuff. Has anyone else tried giving yourself a small fun allowance and seen it work better than going all in on savings?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tessa28d ago

To be honest, $50 a month adds up to $600 a year. If you put that in savings instead, it covers a car repair or a decent emergency fund boost. I tried your buddy's method for three months in Denver and ended up spending the fun money on coffee and snacks, then still felt broke when I needed new tires. Just feels like you're tricking yourself into spending more overall.

the_elizabeth28d ago

So did you actually track spending or just guess at the total?

lisa97613h ago

Oh man, you're making me rethink my whole budget system. I used to be the queen of "I'll just eyeball it and see how it feels" until I actually tracked every single coffee and snack run for two months. That $4.50 latte plus a $2 bag of chips didn't feel like much at the time but it added up to $180 just on that stuff alone. My friend swore by the same method you tried and she ended up paying $40 in overdraft fees because she lost track. Now I'm a spreadsheet convert whether I like it or not.