Budget for a Great Lifestyle...Not A Recession

Whether or not the first day of 2008 was the beginning of a recession or not, it should be the end of your focus on what you can't have and can't do. It's time to ignore the negativity and fear mongering. Simply acknowledge the mess greed has incubated and move on.


Here's the first thing to do. It's called the Great Lifestyle Rule of Law. Things that matter most should never be at the mercy of things that matter least. How difficult can that be?


With good intent, most of us would probably say, "Yeah, I do that." Of course, it may not be top of mind every time you're at the mall. That's when our impulsive and frivolous spending takes an unplanned bite out of the budget. But okay, we'll cut back somewhere else, right.


That's not quite how the rule should work. What really matters most and makes an undeniable value-added contribution to your lifestyle right now AND moves you in the direction of your dream and aspirations is different. Here's the catch. It's always what comes after the 'AND' in the above sentence that makes following this rule such a challenge. It has a long term reach as you aim toward the future you want to have.


The focus must be on your dreams and aspirations and what you're doing to make them a reality. Call it goal setting, lifestyle planning or whatever you like. The point is you can't hit a target you can't see even if its only in your imagination. So anything that obscures or clutters up your picture of the target minimizes the chance of reaching it.


We get a lot of help with the clutter from the 50,000 malls we can visit, advertisers, and the media who bombard us constantly with images of what they want us to dream about and acquire. This commercial litter is dangerous to your dreams and your budget. It's also enviromentally unfriendly to a lifestyle you'll want to sustain once you have it.


Here's a suggestion. Make time to add up the dollars you plan to spend this month on your dreams and aspirations ... what really matters most to you. (I call these my passion absolutes.) You may be surprised by how little that is in the big picture of your overall monthly spending.


If that's what you discover then it's time to refocus on the target. Now, the things that matter most will not be at the mercy of things that matter least.