Budgeting

Budgeting gives me jitters. 

My dad had been accounting each paisa in his life and he’d been very sharp at it too, and maybe I also inherited his habit of counting and recounting and accounting my sheets of green paper again and again. 

I also get a sort of pleasure in doing so but I sometimes feel that I behave like a miser on occasions.

Leave alone hard currency, my sister still teases me about a time of our childhood when I had lent a small stud of a pencil to my classmate and she’d to come to our house to return that, and I didn't let her enter our house. 

It’s a different matter actually as I had always been very conscious of myself and my house for certain reasons, and I was always conscious of ‘what’ll people say?’ thing which I gradually realized is a damn thing in itself.

Secondly, I was very private person, never liking intruding in my space by anybody due to the same fear of people’s judgments.

Okay. 

I accept I've been sort of a miser, because now I don’t care about what people think, as much as I used to, anyway people have a right to have their judgments and I am okay with that.

Anyhow, we were talking about budgeting. 

So, If we google around we’ll get to have thousand, even more than thousand reasons to make budgets and similar things on paper, on smart phones and on computers as well, but personally speaking what I have observed from the lives of my near and dear ones, friends, neighbors and everyone around whom I’m sure would have been budgeting, is – budgeting makes you poor or to put it more accurately ‘a budget keeps you poor.’

Don’t frown and please don’t laugh. I have strong reasons to support my opinion.

My mom used to have a life king size or may I say queen size, even if it used to be only for a few days or may be four days, and rest of the days we somehow used to manage, but it was a real pleasure with which we used to wait for those four days in anticipation, which none of the fellows who make budgets can even enjoy in their wildest dreams; and mind you my mom always had everything, she never showed any misery, and she never said she didn't have. 

She always had whatever was asked or expected from her.

Then, my friend – she’s a born money killer, I mean non-budgeter.

Why? Because as soon as money reaches her palm, it is flown like water to the needy and greedy and whosoever and whatsoever, she doesn't care and she doesn't need to care. 

She married a bank account which replenishes her without a wink and she’s happy ever after.

Looking at her, anybody can wonder if it is right to say that ‘whatever goes, will come back, because this world is round,’ and there you are – wondering why to make a budget when world is round and what goes out of your wallet will be back soon.

 But we have one more point to consider here – you and I didn't marry a bank account, right? 

But still, try; maybe we also get this theory right sooner or later. 

Who knows…What? Why take risk? Okay, I give you more points to ponder and believe that budgeting ruins us…

One of my acquaintances – started life with nothing, or maybe started with everything his friends could afford. 

God’s gracious, such people have so big hearted friends, but this is what he is - big hearted. 

Ready to do anything for his friends, with a good wit and looks to kill for or die for, and had a knack for emptying pockets. 

Once, he even made a number of people fool by many of his tricks of hiring them to become a cop on state agency; wonder people believe just anything and make such crooks a millionaire! 

Anyway, he never bothered about the ‘next day’ syndrome. He lived for the present and money kept flowing towards him – as long as I knew him.

My own experience is such when I spend, I feel so light, never bothered about any of the expenses, never worried about yesterdays, tomorrows or any other thing but I present myself the present  and make full use of the day, and never felt pressed for money the next day (can’t say the same about husband dear), but whenever I indulged myself into budgeting and keeping up with it – I get hell out of myself – I somehow start counting everything and I get a wondering  thought of what ifs…?

I somehow get to feel much older, much responsible and far more accountable for everything which is happening and is going to happen in this world related to money. 

All interest rates suddenly start interesting me, SIPs get into my morning and evening sips and market rates make my heart rate go high. 

I start counting my yesterdays’ blunders, today’s up-keeps and tomorrows’ planning. 

Suddenly, my kids’ future start looming large and purchase of that beautiful time piece starts looking non investable and sheer waste of time and money.

It gets into my nerves and again I start counting and recounting and accounting.