Honestly speaking, budgeting can be a tasking thing to do, physically and mentally. Most times, when the subject of budgeting is mentioned, a lot of people mentally check out. But, budgeting does not mean denying yourself of everything fun, enjoyment or happiness. When done right, budgeting can even make your entertainment sustainable and you’ll be guilt free.
For a lot of Canadians that are looking for ways to navigate and manage their limited resources to cater for their expenses, the balance between financial responsibility and having a good time is budgeting. This is one of the most important life skills that everybody should have and here’s how to navigate it without it feeling like a second job.
Start With What You Actually Spend, Not What You Think You Spend
The first step in budgeting is not creating a budget but actually knowing where your money goes. A lot of people estimate what they spend on entertainment. A movie rental here, a coffee there, game sale and similar buys all come together to a huge amount at the end of the month.
Now, you may find out with your budgeting app, that you have been spending ridiculously on entertainment. But, the goal is not to make you feel bad, it is to make you aware of how much you spend on these things and create an honest baseline on which you can build a realistic budgeting plan.
Give Entertainment Its Own Category and Protect It
Never treat entertainment as a thing you need to cut off; this causes you to slash your fun, and then within two weeks you feel caged and you throw your whole plan out.
Rather than cutting entertainment off completely from your budget, input it without guilt with a real, intentional and realistic amount you would spend. Most times, when you give entertainment a particular budget, you are restricted within that boundary and you’ll be able to avoid overspending or taking from other expenses to entertain yourself.
Here is a simple 50/30/20 rule that works well with budgeting:
- 50% of your income after paying your taxes should be for your needs (rent, groceries, utilities, transportation)
- 30% of your income should be for wants, entertainment to be precise (gaming, dining out, hobbies, subscriptions)
- The remaining 20% should be saved.
Therefore, within the 30% “wants” bucket, you can break it down further to gaming, night out, travelling and more as you desire. The goal is that you have your entertainment budget incorporated into your monthly expenditures without an ounce of guilt.
Prioritize What Actually Brings You Joy
Not all entertainment spending is the same. There are entertainment platforms that add to your life, some are habits, impulse buys and long time addicted things that you do. You can do an audit of which entertainment expenses you can do away with, the ones you have subscribed to and have not touched for two months, the ones you scroll past and which ones you’ll genuinely miss.
The ones you won’t be missing much, you can cancel that and save some money to further explore the ones that add to your life. This is not about being conservative, it is about making sure our budget for entertainment is maximally used and enjoyed.
Online Entertainment and the Importance of Set Limits
Digital entertainment platforms that offer streaming, gaming, and all kinds of entertainment have made it easy to spend without realizing you are actually draining your funds. For example, the likes of in-app purchases, pay-per-event and add-ons all quietly drain your entertainment budget without you even realizing it.
This is also true for online gaming and casino platforms. Canadians know that this is a form of what and are best treated with a monthly budget, stop limit and other responsible gaming options. Choosing a casino with an abundance of responsible gaming options to choose from makes responsible detainment possible, for example, casinos that accept MuchBetter are online platforms that allows you to up your e-wallet with ease and maximum transaction privacy, to be used whenever you want to play or gamble for entertainment purposes. This will go a long way in your budgeting endeavours.
Make It Flexible, Not Rigid
Budgeting will fail, if it is too strict and so cannot survive in an old entertainment budget that has some flexibility, e.g. for a spontaneous game, for an occasional spend.
Therefore, you need to set your monthly entertainment budget with a little extra and carry the unspent money till the best month. As per experience, Canadians are constantly thinking about how their financial habits and leisure are always at odd ends and how to solve this.
The answer is in one thing; which is, making sure that necessities and entertainment are treated as equals.
The Real Goal: Spend Intentionally, Not Less
Budgeting and entertainment are not opposite sides. The goal is not to cut off entertainment to save money but to spend with intentionality in a way that goes in line with what you value, enjoy and what your income can support.
When we start treating entertainment as something necessary and not just something we need to cut off or be ashamed of, then, we can enjoy things maximally, stress less and spend maximally but wisely.
