BUDGETING - THE GREAT EVIL!

LOL - OK,not really but still, when you first start living according to a budget having been spending like a drunken sailor before that it's worse than any celery and carrot stick diet and I'm sure anyone else who has been compelled to do either type of diet, ie, a food or a money one, will corroborate that for me.

If you have financial goals though and remember those can be all about spending your money on a certain special thing, the very best way to hit them is with a good budget.

The husband and I have had a small war about budgeting because our priorities are obviously different and we have managed to compromise with the help of wonderful YNAB which I'd recommend to anyone who wants something but really hates the idea of haivng to save for it. It works a charm - we never feel deprived and it's incredibly easy to use.

We've transitioned into excellent savers from being the wild hedonists of 2008 and I'm telling you, anything that helpful for a transitioning has to be worth a look.