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Before I begin, let’s get one thing straight. Your budget is not a constraint. It’s a powerful tool to give you the life you desire.

You may not like the term, personal finance budgeting. Or let alone, personal finance planning. I know I don’t. It’s 3 words long and anything more than 1 word long already begins to turn us off.

Nevertheless, whether we do or don’t like the term, it does not matter. The bottom line is that we are better off understanding its meaning and the role it can play in shaping the life that we want.

Why? Because they give us tools with which we can build the lifestyle we all desire. Who doesn’t want a debt-free life? If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be reading this article in the first place.

So, how do you achieve a debt free life? I’ll make this as easy as possible. Two words: Budget Budging. Try to repeat those words 10 times as quickly as possible. It’s quite fun.

Whatever you do, don’t ever forget these 2 words because it will become a central part of your personal finance planning.

So what is Budget Budging? It means taking control of your budget rather than letting your budget take control of you. The key to all this is dictating your budget. If you are able to dictate your budget, then you can dictate your lifestyle. Simple as that.

First things first. Set up a budget that you are able to live with, and stick with it. Keep a record of all the money that you spend, whether it be cash, check or credit card. Keep a record of all expenses.

By doing this, you know where your income is going. You also know what steps you must take to participate in personal finance budgeting and create yourself a good budget. However, it must one that you are able to live comfortably with and make really large strides towards budgeting all your debt away completely.

Second point. Eliminate waste. As you go through all your expenses, you will realise how wasteful you are with your money sometimes. Here’s where you have to be ruthless. No ifs, no buts.

This may involve making some sacrifices. One way to get around this is to think deeply and decide what things do you really need. Be honest with yourself. Don’t hesitate to forego some luxuries that you don’t really need.

The reason why people don’t cut such waste is because they think short term. They think about the short term pain, not the long term gain.

In the beginning, you may feel as if personal finance budgeting is a frustrating and complicating process, but once you have successfully created a budget for your finances that you can live on, you will see that the dedication of your time and effort was well worth the frustrations and complications. There’s nothing like a debt free life, right?

Jenni Snook is the chief writer of www.HealthyWealthySoul.com, a website dedicated to giving people the advice and tools to achieve both financial and spiritual happiness in their lives.