Budget basics

Building a solid foundation leads not only to financial security, but overall happiness. Financial planner Canna Campbell gives us a crash course on writing a winning budget.

- GENEVIEVE GANNON

One of the best things you can do for your financial health is also the simplest: writing a budget. It not only creates effective money habits, but enables you to reach your goals. Plus, when you can watch your budget working for you – seeing those debts coming down and your savings going up – it’s an emotional boost.

While some of us resist the idea as we fear it will put limits on our choices or unlock guilt if we overspend, financial planner Canna Campbell promises this is far from the truth. “An analogy I use for people who hate budgeting is it’s simply a kids’ playground with a fence all around it,” she says. “You can’t get into too much trouble if you stay within the confines of the fence.” There are, however, some tricks to getting it right.

Be honest