You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want

Forecasting has you “budgeting” money you don’t have and pretending you know exactly what your expenses will be three months from now. You know it probably won’t work out that way, and you don’t feel much better after you’ve run the imaginary numbers.

Let the Four Rules guide your sessions. If you’re just starting out, set your priorities (after your Rule Zero date) and then roll on Rule One. Assign dollars to jobs together so you’re both aware of your monthly targets.

If you’ve overspent on eating out and need to take that money from a different priority, like vacation, that’s accountability. You are living the reality of what it means to spend more than you’d planned: you’re now that much farther from your vacation goal. It’s not a failure, but a reprioritization.

If you never spend to the point of feeling deprived, that’s also stressful. It will take time to find your sweet spot, and even that may shift.

Just try to stay aware of your stress levels, of how much your money is really doing what you want it to, and adjust accordingly.

No matter how tight things feel, leave room for your proverbial doughnut.

We mainly encourage using a joint account because of its simplicity. It’s just easier to manage your money when there are fewer moving parts.

Rule Two prompts you to break those bigger expenses into monthly installments so you’re prepared to pay them when they hit.

Whether expenses happen like clockwork (rent), feel impossible to predict (car repairs), or are just far-off dreams (cash for a wedding), they are all part of your true expenses.