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I wrote a financial article two days ago. I hope it goes somewhere. It's not that I want recognition. I want work. I want honest work. I want someone out there to know that I spent years learning personal finance. That I took effort. I took time. I took hours. I took away from myself to learn something. And I want to share it. I want to write about it. I want to make it easier for the person that comes next. I want to follow John Lennon's footsteps and leave little notes in the sand. Saying where I've been. Asking, where have you been? I want to be out there with the world connecting. To people I've never known. To people I will never know. I don't want to lead. I'm not supposed to. It would be a disaster. Honestly. But, here it is. The works. To you, a toast. For reading something off the path. It must be right? I don't even know where it is within the enormity of digital collaboration. But. Here it is. Reflect, Reduce, Redo <An article, in three parts> What does budget mean to you? Restriction. Constraint. Buying what you need and not what you want? That diet your friends rave about but doesn't fit your lifestyle? Reconsider. Can you stop now, call off work, and take a vacation? What are your options? Backpacking. Camping. Bed and Breakfast. Take a week out at The JL Bar Ranch, Resort & Spa? This is what budgeting means. Options. Freedom. The allowance to make the spur of the moment choice and not use a credit card for it. The joy of dropping everything for a moment, and not coming back with debt.  Interested? Then let's talk priorities. We'll get to the budget later. Reflecting on what matters A budget is only as good as the priorities you set. We have to be honest. Here's some math you might hear often; the average cost of a cup of coffee. If you're a Starbucks drinker (~100 million Americans do, US Census & WorldCoffeePortal.com), that's about 2 dollars a day. Over a year? That's 728 dollars a year! You could quarter that cost down, and buy a hammock instead... but. Maybe. You like Starbucks? The green and black outfits. The classic clean feel and design of their seating area. The variety of drinks, not just coffee. A bite of perfect sous-vied egg. That's your priority. don't cut it out of your life because it's not for someone else.  Be honest, or the Starbucks section of your budget will creep up on you. Pick three top priorities, not the thing you're saving for, but what you're spending month to month on. Flexible spending. Your mortgage doesn't count here. You could decide not to pay it one month, but I don't recommend it.  So take a walk, drink some coffee, and figure out what you want to spend money on. The little luxuries that keep your days bright. Mine?

• Whole Foods vegetables (quality vegetables make a dish shine)

• Coffee! (Just beans, no Starbucks for me... unless I'm traveling)

• Tea (I love hot drinks) <Just between me and you dear reader, the true third item? Drinks. Of the alcoholic sort. But shh, don't tell anyone.>

Next, what are you saving for? What's that big buy around the corner? Saving for college, paying the mortgage off early, sending the kids to college, the list goes on. Balance the needs of now with the desires of later. Don't forget either. Who you are now, and what you do today, makes the later that much sweeter.

• Children, I have two. I pinch and pull my budget to have a little bit more for them. Saving for their inevitably expensive life choices. Whether that's college, trade school, or the next "must-do" on the horizon.

• Mortgage, it's a big one for me. If I can pay it off, it clears my budget up for my top priority.

• Retirement! I have the good fortune of starting early, thanks to some good folks I've met. Anything to have a quiet life at the end of the road, free from burden.

Okay, so we figured out what matters. Right? Hopefully! Though in the span of a short article, maybe you need more time. Feel free to come back, or skip ahead.  Reduce Maybe, just maybe. You don't need four different video streaming services (guilty). Say (hypothetical, in no way reflects the author's current streaming) you have Netflix, Disney+, Prime TV, and Hulu. So you finished Love Life, go ahead and cut that Hulu subscription (7$/month). Okay, so Mandalorian Season 2 isn't out until Oct 30, how bout you cancel until January (7$/month)? Do you have time between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years to binge? Prime TV and Netflix. Well, one is a package. For delivering packages. Which you may need during the COVID conditions. So try a month without Netflix (9$/month). Congratulations, you (I) saved 23$/month! There's plenty of moments in your life that you can cut costs. Next week, I'll put together a list of common areas you can reduce in your budget. You don't have to do them all, pick a few. Try it on, return it if you don't like it. Then try some more. Redo Turns out a budget isn't something you sit down with your partner, or parent, or kid and do once. This isn't a subscribe and save package. Want a good schedule? You might not enjoy it, but it gets better. Twice weekly, check your finances. Check your budget. Put in numbers, and make sure you're where you want to be. After a good whole quarter (four months), check again. Does your insurance charge every 6 months? Check then instead. If you're satisfied, that's it. You're done! Check once every other month.  But... did you make a change? Cut something else out of your daily spend? Or did you add something? Back to the spreadsheets. Back to the twice weekly. The quarterly review. There's a reason businesses have accounting and finance departments. They make changes, often. And they need to know the results. New hire. New coffee machine. New building. Lost a building.  There's no specific budget that works. It's a process. Check back in, we're here to help ease the process.