Hello, Wine Ebers. My name is Jesse Meekham and this is podcast number 157 for you need a budget.

Where we teach you four rules to help you stop living paycheck to paycheck, get out of debt,

and save more money. This is a situation where you're spending more money than you

bring in. You're in the red. The business is operating at a loss and you question the wisdom of budgeting.

You feel like it might be futile. And it's not. If there's any moment where a budget is most important,

I'm not allowed to say it's always important though it is. But if there's any moment where it's more

important than other moments, it is when you're operating at a loss. If you're a student in

college, by the way, we give you our software for free while you're in school, and you are having

to borrow money and spend that borrowed money and not earn much income, you're operating

a loss, and a lot of people just toss up their hands my mother-in-law

included and says hey I know I spend more than I take in so it just is what it is a

budget doesn't help with that problem, and that's the end of that.

And this drives me crazy.

When you are operating in the red, that is the time where the budget really shines, that is the time

where you tighten the belt, that's the time where you really have to buckle down.

If I were operating a business at a loss, I wouldn't be spending money willy-nilly and thinking that I have this mental math going on my head that's actually accurate.

It's not. There are a few things that set me off. One is when people say I

know I'm spending more money than I bring in, therefore I don't need a budget.

Another one is when they say I already know what I spend, therefore I don't need a budget.

The third one that really sets me off was when people say I don't spend money.

Those three will get me fired up at your dinner party.

Just know, if you're in one of those tight spots right now, probably temporary.

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