Budgeting. It’s important and everyone should be doing it, except… you haven’t done it yet. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. A survey in 2019 found that fewer Americans are creating a household budget and sticking to it. However, more Americans agree that it’s important for everyone else to do. They’re just not keeping a budget themselves. How’s that for a contradiction?

When the New Year begins, many people make resolutions to save more and spend less. Unfortunately, that’s also one of the most common resolutions to keep. Why? Well, there are a number of reasons, but we think that struggling to find a good budgeting system is one of them. Maybe you’ve tried to start a budget several times using many different tools, but nothing has stuck so far. You still haven’t found that one unicorn budgeting system that works for you.  

THE PROBLEM WITH BUDGETING SYSTEMS

Let’s look at common budgeting processes for a second. There’s the old-fashioned way to budget with a pen and paper. It’s a popular system, but also prone to error. If you’re not used to tracking purchases and writing down expenses, it can get overwhelming pretty fast. Plus, some people may not have the time or patience to write everything longhand. 

Next up: spreadsheets. There are people who use spreadsheets for everything and adore them. And there are other people who look at spreadsheets and just see a big old mess. It’s okay to be in either camp! But if spreadsheets don’t mesh with how you process and retain information, of course they aren’t going to help. You need a better system.

VISUALIZE YOUR BUDGET WITH BUILDING BLOCKS

Remember when you were a kid and you played with building blocks? They were usually solid, colorful, and made of heavy wood or plastic. You could build yourself a house, a spaceship, a castle: anything your imagination dreamed up. Those building blocks helped you understand the principles of balance and symmetry. Plus, they honed skills like counting, problem-solving, sorting, and spatial reasoning. While you were having fun interacting with these building blocks, they were secretly teaching you skills that set you up for the future. Including your budgeting skills.

That’s how we came up with the BudgetingBlocks™️ system. Instead of boring spreadsheets or messy notes, the BudgetingBlocks™️ system is an interactive budgeting process that can help you visualize your expenses, income, debt, and more. 

Here’s how it works. With BudgetingBlocks™️, you receive:

  • 300 blocks in two colors

  • The Budget Blocks Values Exercise

  • Expense and income trackers

  • Your new budget!

Each block is assigned a dollar amount. By stacking and organizing your blocks, you can see how your bills and expenses add up in an effective, tangible way. The BudgetingBlocks™️ allows you to visualize where your money is going, what you’re spending it on, and what you really want your “blocks” to do. Want to prioritize paying down your debts? See which blocks can be moved to that stack. Maybe it’s your stack of blocks that are spent on personal items, groceries, or fun stuff. It’s your call.

BUDGETINGBLOCKS™ CAN CHANGE HOW YOU SEE MONEY

It might take some time to play around with the BudgetingBlocks™️ system to figure out your budget. And that’s okay, as long as you stick to it. Even though BudgetingBlocks™️ are based on a form of play that many of us experienced in our childhoods, it has a serious impact on the very real experience of managing your money.   

Interested in seeing how BudgetingBlocks™ can work for you and your co-money manager? Learn more here!