I’ve been budgeting with my partner for just over a week now, and I can honestly say I’ve fully bought into the mindset of not spending any money unless you need to. Of course, we have allocated funds for entertainment and “blow” money each month, but it’s an absolute fraction of what we used to spend.

The thing that’s so fascinating to me is how easy it has been making the transition from not budgeting at all to being on a rather strict budget. I think the biggest factor in accepting this lifestyle change is working together with my partner. If it weren’t for her giving it a try as well, I think I would be far less inclined to change my ways. But since we can hold one another accountable, we’re more likely to stick with it and succeed.

Another thing that has goaded us into spending much less is looking back at our spending habits over the course of the last month. Seeing the ungodly high amounts of money we spent on alcohol and eating out was the perfect scare tactic into never doing that again.

So, we’ve started to see minor changes in the way we look at things. Heck, it’s made us want to keep our apartment more tidy and clean as well. I’ve begun organizing things in cardboard boxes (especially storage items). I never knew how useful cardboard boxes could be until now, and I find myself wanting to keep the boxes we end up with just in case I need them down the road.

Ultimately, budgeting is a way of life. It’s not a temporary thing that needs to happen for a few months until you’ve saved what you need. No, it’s something you commit to in order to live better down the road, save more, and treat yourself when you truly deserve it. If you’re out spending money all over the place, all the time, you’ll never really know what it means to treat yourself because 1) you’ll have less money later on to treat yourself with and 2) you’ll always be splurging, meaning you never really appreciate what spending a little extra looks like.

I’ve never been more sure of something in the way I live until now, and it’s great that we made the change now before looking to buy a house next year. We’ve already projected a budget plan over the next year that should help us immensely in closing on a great house for us before our wedding, and I can already get excited for a great honeymoon too!