Banking Your Budget
Budgets often get a bad reputation for being strict, unforgiving rules. But in reality, they’re more like flexible guidelines—tools to help you align your spending with your values, not boxes to confine you.
Take this example: you’re on vacation and set a $100 budget for souvenirs. That doesn’t mean you have to spend the full amount. Likewise, if your food budget is $50 for the day, there's no rule that says you must hit that number exactly. When I used to work on the road, I’d receive a $40 per diem for food each day. Whether I spent $20 or $100, I’d still get $40. So I started banking the extra. If I spent only $30, that meant $10 more in my pocket. Do that over a seven-day trip, and I’d have an extra $70 to enjoy—or save for something else.
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