Erin and I used to maintain a family budget. It got tedious after a while, and we soon abandoned it. Niggling over a few bucks here and there was pointless, and we soon saw the futility of it. We learned it was far better to focus our energy on boosting our income to the point where keeping a family budget wasn't even necessary.
Some say that as your income grows, your expenses will rise to match it. That certainly hasn't been true for us. As our income went up, our expenses didn't keep pace, so we ended up living well below our means.
If you have a bad habit of spending irresponsibly, budgeting may be a wise choice, but if you know you wouldn't become reckless after doubling your income, then by all means put some energy into doubling your income.
Surely there's a better use of your time than fussing about $20-40 per month in spending. How could you earn an extra $20-40 or more by creating value for someone else? Even kids can earn that much extra cash these days.
Nobody's income is fixed unless they themselves hold it fixed. You can always earn more money by creating more value.
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