That’s absolutely true of most money management methods. No way of managing money can turn not enough money into enough; that’s not an individual problem to tackle. My biggest issue with budget culture is that most experts act as if changing the way you manage money will solve that problem.
I do make room in my budget-free approach to consider non-income resources, like debt, charities, and government programs, to help expand what’s available for spending and saving. In some cases, that can make the difference, and in some, there’s still not enough to make ends meet.
The response that we often hear is "get a job that pays better" (like the jobs available to me are falling off garbage trucks every day) or "cut back on your expenses" (as if the landlord will take less this month so my family can eat cereal). As Dana mentioned, it's often outside an individual person's ability to resolve without some intervention from an agency or organization specializing in that.
The underlying premise of these non-budget approaches seems to be that you actually have money after the fixed expenses are met.
Many people are in a lifeboat and not the fancy pontoon or yacht that a few others are sporting around the sea in.
That’s absolutely true of most money management methods. No way of managing money can turn not enough money into enough; that’s not an individual problem to tackle. My biggest issue with budget culture is that most experts act as if changing the way you manage money will solve that problem.
I do make room in my budget-free approach to consider non-income resources, like debt, charities, and government programs, to help expand what’s available for spending and saving. In some cases, that can make the difference, and in some, there’s still not enough to make ends meet.
Indeed. So then for me I ask, what can we do about the lifeboat problem? We can't save money we don't have or that needs to be committed elsewhere.
The response that we often hear is "get a job that pays better" (like the jobs available to me are falling off garbage trucks every day) or "cut back on your expenses" (as if the landlord will take less this month so my family can eat cereal). As Dana mentioned, it's often outside an individual person's ability to resolve without some intervention from an agency or organization specializing in that.
All true. Of course for people who .are. eg the landlord, maybe they could take less after all.