Why Most Budgets Fail (And What to Do Instead)
If you've tried budgeting before and given up, you're not alone.
You downloaded the app. You tracked every transaction. You categorized every coffee. You spent hours looking at charts showing where your money went last month.
And then nothing changed.
You felt guilty. You felt overwhelmed. And eventually, you gave up.
Here's the truth: budgeting didn't fail you. The method failed you.
The Problem With Most Budget Systems
Most budgeting systems treat every expense the same.
Your rent gets the same attention as your coffee budget. Your power bill gets tracked the same way as your grocery spending. Your insurance, your subscriptions, your random spending at the dairy - all treated equally.
That's a waste of energy.
Because here's the thing: your rent is the same every month. Your insurance is the same every month. Your phone bill, your internet, your subscriptions - they're fixed. You can't really change them week to week.
So why are you spending mental energy tracking them?
Meanwhile, your groceries, your eating out, your random spending - that's where the variation happens. That's where you actually have decisions to make. That's where behaviour change can happen.
But most budget systems want you to track everything equally. So you spend all this time on stuff that doesn't matter and ignore the stuff that does.
Information Without Behaviour Change Is Just Guilt
Here's what I see all the time in coaching sessions:
People come to me with perfect tracking. They know exactly where every dollar went last month. They have charts. They have data.
And nothing has changed.
Because knowing you spent $200 on takeaways last week doesn't stop you from spending $200 on takeaways this week.
Information without action is just guilt.
You need to attach a behaviour change to the information. Otherwise you're just collecting data that makes you feel bad about yourself.
The Two-Account Budget System
Here's the system I use with every client:
Step 1: Add up your fixed expenses
Rent, power, insurance, phone bill, internet, subscriptions - everything that's the same every month or gets paid automatically.
Step 2: Set up a separate account
This account gets the exact amount needed to cover your fixed expenses. Set up automatic transfers so the money goes in, the bills come out, and you never think about it again.
Step 3: Focus on your variable spending
Everything else - groceries, eating out, entertainment, random spending - that comes out of your main account.
This is where you track. This is where you make decisions. This is where behaviour changes happen.
Why This Works
When you automate your fixed expenses, they're done. You're not making decisions about them every month. You're not tracking them. You're not thinking about them.
All your energy goes to the variable stuff.
And this is where the behaviour change happens.
You look at your variable spending account. You see what's left until payday. You make decisions.
"I've got $300 left for the next two weeks. Do I want to blow $80 on Friday night, or spread it out?"
That's a decision you can actually make. That's a behaviour you can actually change.
But if you're trying to track 47 different categories and your rent and your Netflix subscription are mixed in with your grocery spending, you're overwhelmed. You can't see what matters.
This system gives you clarity. And clarity lets you make better decisions.
How to Actually Use This System
Week one: Set up your fixed expenses account. Add up everything that's fixed. Set up the automatic transfers.
Week two: Track your variable spending. Just observe. Don't try to change anything yet. Just see where your money goes.
Week three: Pick one variable category. Look at what you spent. Now ask yourself: what behaviour needs to change to get the result I want?
Not "I need to spend less on groceries." That's not actionable.
"I need to meal plan on Sundays so I stop buying takeaways when I'm disorganized." That's a behaviour.
"I need to unsubscribe from marketing emails so I stop impulse shopping." That's a behaviour.
"I need to pack my lunch the night before so I don't buy it at work." That's a behaviour.
Information plus behaviour change. That's the formula.
Week four: Add one more category, one more behaviour change.
You're not trying to track everything. You're not trying to be perfect. You're just trying to change something.
What to Do Right Now
Here's your action point:
Pull up your bank statement from last month. Add up your fixed expenses. Everything that's the same every month.
Set up an account that gets that exact amount automatically.
Now focus on what's left. That's your variable spending. That's where you have control.
Because budgeting isn't about tracking everything. It's about focusing on what you can actually change.
And that's how you do budgeting, the Maverick Way.