Bad Budgeting

Write about your approach to budgeting.

My title should probably be “Bad Example of Budgeting.” My approach is not one that people should necessarily follow.

When my wife died, I gained a healthy insurance payout. I paid off my car and banked the rest. When I sold my house, I invested that in some products that will be coming due in a few years. In the meantime, I’m sitting on a healthy cash reserve.

My monthly income, which, because of good investment advice and years of pension acculumation, exceeds my working paycheck, taking care of my regular expenses. I contribute to the household and have my usual recurring payments (health and car insurance, and credit card bills). I pay off the credit cards every month as well, and so anything I buy is paid off very quickly.

As for other expenses, if I want something I get it. I don’t usually compare prices too much because, for the most part, the difference isn’t extreme. If I do think if something is expensive, but I still want it (like an expensive burger), I get it, because I worked long and hard to get here, and I’m worth it.

Years ago, when I would visit my mother, I’d stay in the Super 8. Eventually I decided that a better hotel was in order because I didn’t think a college professor should be caught in the middle of a drug deal while getting ice. Since that time I’ve opted for the better choice, because life is short and we should enjoy it while we can.

I’m sorry if this comes off as cavalier; I know there are a lot of people struggling to make ends meet, and I wish they could be paid more, or get a Universal Basic Income, or the government would step in to make things easier. Unfortunately corporations have stacked the deck against them. Fortunately for me, I’ve been able to surf over those problems and get here.

Which is not to say, at one point, $5 in a letter from my father-in-law didn’t get us through to the end of the month along with recycling aluminum cans for cash. There have been times when I’ve scraped by, and I don’t want to go back to that.