We’ve all been there. You’ve been so good about your budget or your diet or whatever else you’ve restricted yourself on, and then one weekend it feels like it all goes to hell. You went to a party and ate three cupcakes instead of none, you walked into a sample sale and walked out $500 later. Then you think, well screw it, I may as well do whatever I want, I already broke the seal/ruined my budget/messed up my diet plan.
Last month, I had a monthly checkin with a Brunch Club client. It was right after her birthday weekend and when we looked through her spending, I could see her face falling via the magic of video chat.
I stopped and looked at her. “Listen,” I said. “It was your birthday weekend. I totally get it. A bad weekend doesn’t have to mean a bad month.”
She nodded.
“I’m sure you had an amazing time, and this doesn’t meant the rest of your month has to be like this too.”
We talked about which category we wanted her to focus on for the next month, a category that was often an impulse buy category that she had been wanting to work on for while.
During this month’s checkin, she reduced her spending in this category by over a third and was able to stick to the monthly savings plan we set up for her. We took a look at her budget and decided on another category she wanted to work on for this next month.
I asked her why she he thought she was successful this month. She told me that she reminded herself throughout the month that a bad day/weekend/week didn’t have to mean a bad month and that helped her get through those days.
We have a tendency to think of things like diets and budgets as all or nothing. You’re either perfect at it or you’re a failure. I’d like you to consider something in the middle: you’re human and you want things. You’re not going to be able to (nor should you) say no to everything that’s outside of the lifestyle change you’ve decided to make.
Next time you find yourself doing something outside of your diet or budget, acknowledge it, enjoy it, and move on from it. A bad day today can still end up a good month.
