Guzzle *Gulp*
We spent all our gasoline money and it’s only April 9. I’ve been budgeting for 10 years and buying gasoline for twenty years I am still learning budgeting lessons. I've been really diligent about inputting each transaction into my YNAB app as it’s happening because it's a great way to be really in tune with your spending. So I happily sat in my car after filling up the tank, went to go categorize this purchase as ⛽Gasoline and YNAB told me that I had overspent by $10.08 in that category. I thought “Silly YNAB! How could we possibly have overspent on gas. It’s only April 9.”
Turns out gasoline is a little quite a bit more expensive right now.
I would love to tell you that my initial reaction was “Oh, that’s OK. This is why the question 'What changes do I need to make, if any?' exists!" And then I happily shifted some money around to cover my over spending on gasoline.
On the contrary, I was pretty frustrated! We have been trying to really buckle down in our finances and make sure that we are saving for what is most important to us. To be honest, having to shift $50 into our ⛽Gasoline category for the rest of the month did not feel all that fun to me. But you know what? I choose to reject my initial reaction. I am going to reframe what’s going on here: the truth is we have the money and we can shift some money around and easily adjust to account for the rising price of gas with the literal click of a button. And that is a truly wonderful thing. I'm grateful to YNAB for helping me remember that money is not the most important thing in the universe. It is an important thing that helps us with our very important priorities, but it did not teach me to get annoyed at needing to shift money around… It has actually taught me the importance of being willing to be flexible in order to account for life’s curveballs.
So, thank you, YNAB, for helping me easily shift some money around when I need to. Thank you for giving me that grace of flexibility and thank you for encouraging me to roll with the punches!
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