How to Budget in 2026 Without Tracking Every Penny (A Better Money System) | 507

0:00If you're starting the new year, I'm going to be better with money. Okay. But you're also secretly scared to look at your bank account. This episode's for you. Absolutely. And Vanessa, we know that how many, what percent, it's like 62 % of people are scared to look at their bank account. That's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. This episode is for you because we're not going to go with an old system. We're not going to do the old way. We're going to give you a brand new way, brand new ideas on how to handle your money in the new year. Do you make good money but have nothing to show for it?

0:29Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Do you have big dreams for your financial future? Do you want to get debt-free but you don't want to live on beans and rice? Or you don't want to give up those pumpkin spice lattes? Hey, it's okay if you don't already know how to budget or if you're using credit cards to get through the month. Hey, it's okay if you want to seem like you have your finances all together or you're not on the same page with your spouse when it comes to finances. We know what you're doing probably isn't working. But guess what? You're in the right place. We're Shana and Vanessa.

0:59We're best friends, business partners, and master financial coaches trained by Dave Ramsey. We've been in business since 2019, helping hundreds of amazing people like you create budgets, get out of debt, stop living paycheck to paycheck, and know exactly what to do with their money. In this podcast, we'll share with you everything we know plus everything we're working on with our clients so that you have the best chance at reaching your financial goals. We want to help you take the guesswork out of your budget, improve your marriages, and even bring your kids in on the conversation. We can help you no matter where you're at, whether you're the single mom who's never had$500 in her savings account or the millionaire who's paid off four real estate mortgages.

1:35And we're not going to shy away from the tough love. We'll tell you what you need to hear and encourage you at the same time. This is the Financial Coaching for Women podcast. All right, Shayna, let's talk about in the past, what we've seen. We have seen some ways that people have budgeted in the past and it's no wonder why it's not working for you. It's no wonder why you're not successful. It's no wonder why you don't love to budget. You hate to budget. Yeah. I think everybody's idea when they think of the word budget or they think about budgeting, the act of budgeting, it feels very heavy. It feels very complicated.

2:08It feels like something your mom's going to make you do or something. Like it doesn't feel like anything that you want to do. And I do think that's encapsulated with the old way we have. Anytime that you've, you've thought about budgeting or the way you're going to handle your money, it really has been like a punishment almost. Yeah. It seems like you're going to get in trouble. You're going to go to time out. It's a whole big conversation. And honestly, it's like, you're spinning your wheels because you don't even know how to budget. You hear the word and you're automatically like, I'm out. Pass.

2:35But we want to change that, that vocabulary. We want to change the, just all of that around the word budget or even money, just how to handle your money better. Yeah. And when I think about the old way, I think so many people come to us tracking things and that's what I feel like when they're spinning their wheels. I feel like they're, you're doing a lot of action activity, but you're not actually budgeting. You're not actually getting anywhere. You're still like feeling like you're, you make good money, but you have nothing to show for it. You still feel broke. You still feel like you're living paycheck to paycheck, but Hey, I spent all that time tracking everything.

3:04Doesn't that That accounts for something. It's just like my client. I think she said her husband would stare at the computer like three hours a night after dinner every night. What are you looking at? Stressed about the finances. But to him, he felt like he was doing something because that was his contribution. He was tracking it. He was accounting for it all. But nothing was changing. So it just wasn't working. Well, and then built up into that old way of doing things is the one account where it's just chaos and there's just a lot of things going on. So that's what you could stare at for three hours because there's so many transactions in there.

3:35I can see you doing that, but it's not, you're not actually doing anything. It's just chaotic. Again, it feels like a chore. And we heard this, you make good money, but you have nothing to show for it. So it usually means that your money has no job. It has no home. You don't, you make good money, but you don't know what's happening with it. Yeah. That's definitely the old way. We know that when people hear our intro and hear those words, that resonates because it is true. And I also feel like, I think that there's just been no innovation. I feel like we have all of these cool new phones and new technology and self-driving cars and whatever all this stuff but then budget is still let's get out of like put on your accountant hat and we'll get out a red pin and see what's going on there's no black and red yeah black maybe are we in the black are we in the red you gotta figure that out but I feel like there's uh nothing new everything is still wanting you to track everything everything is still having you like Maybe they have an app, but it's just applying all the old things that maybe you were doing in an app now.

4:33The types of budgets you were using, the budgeting apps, like Shannon was saying, there's so many of the same forms of old budgets out there that continue to say the same thing. Like you said, no innovation. And I think that's a problem. Why are we continuing to go back to do the same old that we hated from day one? Yeah. And if you're not doing it on an app, you're doing it on paper. And then it's just words and numbers on paper. It's not actually doing anything. But, Vanessa, you know what I was thinking? We have a solution. We have a new way. But I was wondering why we did that. Because we're not, I was thinking, because we're always thinking when the other person's talking and listening, active listening, you guys, okay?

5:08But we're always thinking. And I was like, we came up with our budget because we did so many hours of financial coaching. And then I thought, other people have done so many hours of financial coaching. They also should have been, would have come up with a budget. But then I thought, no, because you and I are always about what's the easy to eat, more efficient way. That's just how our brain is wired. Like, what makes more sense? How can we solve this problem? What is going to make it the easiest, actually, that I'm going to do it right? What's going to solve the problem for me? That's part of it, too.

5:36And then maybe it'll help other people. And then what's going to solve the problem for me as a coach? Because we were, like, coaching so many people, and we needed a better budget to do it with. Yeah, to be fair, this is, what, version four, I think, maybe five of what we were using. So we originally started off using Dave Ramsey's. We did. You did a great job. You spent so much time like making our version of that. I really, I do thank you for that. I spent hours trying to duplicate because we got coached by him. So we were given all his resources. So he gave us like their budget template, right?

6:06Yeah. The white label version for us to use. So I used that and made like the same emojis and made the same sizes and all that. Little envelopes. All of it. And then, you know, it's funny. I was going through a bin yesterday in our garage and it had one of those in there. And I thought, this is awful. This was God awful. And I spent hours making it. And I'm like, thank God we don't do that anymore. Oh gosh. Again, the new way that we've done it is from trial and error. We have spent thousands and thousands of hours coaching and building budgets and making budgets and, and doing our own budget, our own financial stuff.

6:39So that's where we came up with that. But anyway, all that to say, we, when you say a couple of different versions, the one that we have now, We are tweaking and updating it, but there's not. It's just perfect. It's so good. It works so well. Everybody loves it. And it's the new way to budget you. It's the new way. Yeah. So let's talk about what our version of that. And that means we want to simplify, we want to separate, and we want to automate. Yeah. And that is what we have come up with that works. It's amazing. It's lovely. It's actually new. And we're going to get into it a little bit more.

7:10But part of all of this is we wanted to use modern tools. We were personally using some of the modern tools because that's what you do when you're a young person. You use the modern tools. How can I do less? Yes. And maybe when you get old, you're like resistant. You're like, X, I don't want any more phones or gadgets or gidgets. But we did. And so we started using them and then we just kept finding more and more. So we're using anything modern as a tool. And the other thing, Vanessa, is we did start off with like cash envelopes and again, doing kind of what we were taught, the old way. And then we found a modern way to use sort of the same principles, the same like psychology behind everything to make your budgeting budget easier, but also to make you like less times to the ATM, less stress, less brain power, less you having to manually do anything.

7:55Yeah, I definitely believe that the system that we've come up with is something you've not heard before, right? It is something new, something innovative. It is something that could be mind blowing. I feel like it is. And honestly, I think we get that from what we hear from people. Like, why haven't I been doing this for years? This is the thing that I've been wanting, but it didn't know I needed. When I heard you say that, like I knew I was all in. Yes. And we're excited because it is something that we believe has helped our clients, not just pay off debt, but learn how to control their spending, stop overspending, learn how to just organize their money better.

8:30Yeah. And when you say people say it, so we've been doing it and doing it and we just don't think anything of it because it's been just what we were doing in our coaching practice. And then we constantly hear people come on the podcast or new clients and like, why doesn't everybody know this? Why didn't Innovate teach me this before? Why aren't you telling? We're like, we're trying to tell everybody. Help us. It doesn't feel like all that new or innovative to us because we've been doing it. But we realize when we hear you tell us, like, no one ever told me this. No one ever explained it this way.

8:55This finally sticks. I get it. Like, it clicks. And so that's what we're excited to dive into today. And I think the biggest part, Shayna, why our system, again, it's not just a budget. It's a budget system. But why it's so successful is that it matches what you do with your hands. It's not just random stuff. It follows how you manage money on a daily basis. Hey, Vanessa, this is out of left field, but can I just mention, speaking of things doing on a daily basis, what you shouldn't be doing on a daily basis is the check register. Okay. I just, I want to say we have a Facebook fan and we did ask a question that got a lot of engagement.

9:27Like, when do you think you should give your child a debit card? And this person said whatever they said, 16 or 18 or whatever said, and then we give them a check register. And I was like, but why? No, don't do that. I just want, I just wanted to throw that out there. stuff that you shouldn't be doing on a daily basis is check registers. And because of that, it is old. I have a checkbook somewhere. I don't really know where it is anymore. But I've noticed it's starting to get thinner. There's no more carbon copies. It doesn't come with deposit slips or whatever. They're slowly phasing it out, and so should you.

9:58Yeah, and they're becoming more expensive, too, when you have to get them. Unfortunately, there's a couple bills that I have to pay with a check, and I haven't done it in years as far I was ordering a check. So I finally had to do that. Completely forgot. And it came with a check register. And I was like, oh, this is so cute. And we say that not to be ugly, but the whole point of that is it's not necessary. I think that's the biggest thing that we're trying to say is if you do your finances and do your budget the way that we suggest, you don't have to do any of that. And you're still, I think, more successful than you would have been if you were just tracking everything on paper, like using a check register.

10:31Yeah. So back to what you said, Vanessa, our new way. The new way for you to handle your money in the new year is to simplify, which means you, a budget on one page, super easy. Then to separate, we're going to use separate accounts to organize your money like you might've done with cash envelope. And then we're going to automate it. We're going to use the bank to do all of the things that you put down on paper. They're going, the bank is going to do it for you. So you don't actually have to do it with your hands. All right, budget besties, it's time for some real talk. You don't need another budget.

11:00you need a budget system. Our simplified budget system is what you've been looking for. It's going to allow you to be bougie on a budget. You'll be able to easily set up a system that runs automatically and shows you exactly where your money is going. And it's going to give you permission to spend. Everybody loves that. Yeah. It's straightforward, pretty, and packed with walkthrough videos that break down the exact methods we use with our clients to get out of debt, set up a bills account, separate spending, build savings buckets, and end the paycheck to paycheck feel. If you're new to budgeting, this is the perfect way to jump in.

11:35And if you're already a budget nerd like us, you're about to meet your new obsession. This is the upgrade to your finances that you need right now. Yeah. So head on over to budgetbesties.com forward slash budget and grab yours. Now back to today's show. Let's talk about the simplify part. So Shana just said we it's one page budget we recommend you have one page that has your budget on it whether that's digitally or on paper whatever you want but ours is digital we're in it's five columns so it matches exactly what you do with your hands with your money throughout the month it has income it has your minimum debt payments it has your bill your spending and your savings yeah and i think that maybe those other ones you've seen on a budget before minimum debt payments obviously your income and your bills.

12:19But what you haven't seen is the rest of your budget separated to spending and savings. We have spending categories. I don't really know if we've seen spending so much on the budget, but what spending is your gas and groceries, where you go to restaurants, all of those kinds of things. We're going to actually have separate categories in your budget, which makes it so much more clear because that's what you do with your hands. What the old budgets are like, they're putting gas and groceries under a need or a want or whatever, or a bill and it's not a bill. Your bills are something that you're invoiced and they get paid the same every single month.

12:49So our five column system, Vanessa, is very simple. It actually matches. But again, you haven't seen that on a budget. And then also the way that we do savings buckets, you haven't seen that before. The way that we do it, we help you plan out your whole year so that you're not surprised and your budget isn't blown month one because you have savings buckets planned out. Like it's totally different. So the savings bucket section is all those unexpected expenses, guys, that pop up that you don't plan for that you usually have to put on a credit card because we're doing other things. If you're using one of those old budgets, okay, it's really easy to go needs and wants.

13:21Okay, fine, done. Okay, but what are we actually doing throughout the month? How are we spending money? And how to put that into practice. Right. And that is what we've done with our budget. And that's why it's just made so much sense in everyone's brain when they buy our system and they use it. They're like, this is how I spend money. That is how I put it on paper. Yeah. When When I go through my day, I'm either going to buy groceries or I'm going to get the kids' school shoes, which is over here in a savings bucket. It's like the budget that we use actually matches your real life and how you use your money.

13:49And so it just makes it better. And again, it's all on one page. I think that's somehow that's innovative because all these other budgets have you. You have to go over here for this part and then that's for this part. And because we're tracking every transaction on most budgets, it scrolls forever. Like it's not cute. It's not great. Our way is better. Oh guys, we tried to find a cute budget on Etsy and all they were tracking budgets, all of them. They wanted you to track every single expense of every day of everything that you were doing. And we were not for that. And that is why our budget allows you to be successful because each category becomes its own mini budget.

14:22And that's why we talk about the next section that we're going to say is talk about separating. When you separate your money, it's mini budgets for each one of those little categories. And that's all you have to worry about, Shane. There's no tracking required it's so good it's so good you guys so you your bills are gonna be because you're separating everything you have an account for your bills they're just gonna be taken care of they're gonna be doing a great job running you're gonna have a bank a like personal assistant paying your bills for you it's great then you're gonna have your different accounts like Vanessa said which are just like we said before the equivalent of a cash envelope so whatever you used to have cash envelopes for spending kids groceries restaurants all of those kind of things we're now going to have a separate bank account for it and again like Vanessa said it what that does is it separates it for you.

15:02You can clearly see the mini budget that you have for that category. You don't have to track anything. You just spend that account for that category. It's so much better. And it's just taking advantage of the modern, like when you used to, when you went to go bank, open your bank account when you were 18, that was still new. Okay, I'm gonna go get this bank account. Instead of having cash, I'm gonna put my money in a bank. It's not super new, but it's new for everybody. It used to be that moment. Yeah. And now we are all digital. We're paying for stuff almost all the time digital. So why not use more digital tools to help us feel organized with our money?

15:32Yeah. And to go along with that, our last category here is to automate. So when we're putting it all on one paper and we can see it all, it's simple. When we separate it out, it makes it organized. Now we're going to automatically pay all of our bills and put money into the separate accounts. So that way you don't have to worry about it. So again, this new tool is allowing your bank to become your personal assistant. And if we're talking about new ways, Vanessa, I want to talk about how busy we all are. Okay. And I'm going to say full. Like our lives are full and wonderful and lovely. Okay. But there's not a day in this month that we're currently in where my life isn't fully planned out.

16:04And it's wonderful. I love it. But what that means is I don't have time to go pay bills manually. I don't have time to be like, okay, how much money is left for groceries? When I go, if I have time, guys, if I have time to go to the grocery store, the money has to be there. And I don't have to think, I can't think about it. I don't have time or energy to do that. That's what this does for you. It does all of your budgeting for you in the background because you're living your life. You don't have time to do it manually. Yeah. You have so many other things going on in your life and better things than to have to worry about, is the mortgage coming out?

16:32Is this coming out? Is this still pending? So is the balance in my bank account actually what I can use? But I'm not sure. But I think my husband is about to go to the store and spend money. No. All those questions of having a million transactions in one account. Exactly. The uncertainty is removed by you having it organized and separate and then having it automatically funded. And so I, for me, every Thursday, my gas and groceries account is funded. It's a wonderful day for Vanessa. But I know that. And my kids know, don't ask me for milk on Wednesday night. You ain't going to get it. It's coming on Thursday.

17:02You're fasting for milk. Okay. But I think this is so nice to ourselves. We have so much else going on and it's just such a nice thing to do that you won't have to make any of these in the moment decisions or thoughts or math problems. It's all already solved for you. That's why it's really great. And then the other thing is it doesn't feel like gambling spending like whether or not when you go to swipe your card yeah you're like it's regression roulette we're not really sure yeah no it's not gonna work i don't know it's not because it's super clear and you don't have to think again you don't have to go through all these other thoughts and transactions and what's going on with the rent and then this other thing it's okay oh i'm only in the grocery store i have two dollars in the grocery but in the grocery account that's all i have to think about and it's not a gamble it's there yeah and savings isn't whatever is left right it's planned and it's a transfer that happens automatically.

17:48And it's not going into one random account. It's going into a specific account that's designated and renamed so you know why it's there. Yes, so good. And hey, here's a really like new take. Budgeting isn't restrictive. It's not boring. It's not mean. It's not a punishment. It's not a chore. You can be bougie on a budget. That's a new way. You can just have your bougie life. You can be on a budget, but the budget isn't because it's telling you no. It's like making all your bougie things in your life happen. And that's what we want for you. Yeah, We've always wanted people to make a budget based on what they love, what brings them joy, what makes them happy.

18:19We're never about cutting things out of your budget. And the reason for that, Shana, is because we've created a budget that they can pay for. What happens to Shana is we've created a budget that matches their life, and they're excited about that. So it's not anything that they want to cut, but they feel like they have to cut. Because it's funding, like you said, all the bougie things that they want. And bougie is different for everyone. So Shana's version of bougie and my version of bougie are very different. They're not that different. They're a little different. I mean, travel sports. That's like the main part of our budget.

18:47But listen, it's just, that's it. And it's exciting for us to be able to do that because it's in the budget. Yes. And so what are some things that you can do with this? There's some really practical things that you can do as a result of listening to this episode. I think the most important one for me, Vanessa, is that they burn their check registers. Can we get a bonfire going? Everybody just bring your check registers and everybody burn them. Throw them in there. We're not doing that in 2026, y 'all. another big takeaway is the whole stop tracking every transaction that is a game changer that was a game changer for me and we know that hopefully you heard this you're like wait i don't have to track every transaction we are giving you permission guys to not do that anymore and so what you want to do is you want to do all of the things that we're saying the best way to do that is to watch our five-day boot camp where we walk you through exactly all of these things and how to do it exactly what we're saying you can go to budgetbesties.com forward slash start and you can get started on all the things that we talked about.

19:41Yeah. Cause listen, our goal isn't to have more willpower in 2026. It's to have a better system. If you're tired of feeling like your finances are all over the place and you're ready for a simple set it and forget it way to budget, we have something special for you. Watch our automate your budget masterclass at budgetbesties.com forward slash automate. We'll show you step-by-step how to finally organize your money, how to set up your accounts and put your budget on autopilot. So your bills, saving and spending run like clockwork. Imagine less stress, more savings and the freedom to spend money without having to track every dollar or babysit your bank account.

20:18Go to budgetbesties.com forward slash automate to start today.