Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
A caller to “The Ramsey Show” recently asked a question many disciplined budgeters eventually wonder: Is there ever a point when you can stop tracking every single dollar?
Heather from Minneapolis called in to speak with hosts George Kamel and Ken Coleman. She explained that she and her husband had been budgeting meticulously for years, but she was beginning to feel weighed down by the process. “Is there ever a time in our life that we would stop tracking intensely with each and every dollar?” she asked.
Heather said her budget currently includes a long list of categories, with individual line items for every expense. While that level of detail helped them build wealth, she was ready for a shift.
Don’t Miss:
Kamel and Coleman reassured her that it’s not only possible to simplify, it’s something she’s earned. “The concept of budgeting will always be there,” Kamel said. “But it will get easier and more fun the more money you have, and it can be more generalized.”
Heather and her husband are in “Baby Step” 7 of the Ramsey plan and have a net worth just over $8 million. Their annual income is $262,000. Kamel said, “The budget now exists not to just keep you on track. It exists to fulfill your dream and your vision for what retirement and this next season of your life looks like.”
Coleman encouraged her to consolidate categories. For example, instead of tracking each utility bill separately, she could lump them under one “Utilities” line. The same goes for discretionary spending like shopping.
Trending: These five entrepreneurs are worth $223 billion – they all believe in one platform that offers a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends
“If you guys wanted to get a new car, you could just go get a new car,” Kamel added. “You don’t need $1,000 into a car sinking fund to tell you that you have $12,000 at the end of the year.”
He also noted that with the kind of margin Heather has, they could afford to enjoy their money more freely. “You can do what you want with $8 million. It’s going to be hard to outspend yourself.”
Kamel then offered Heather a surprising suggestion: Take a break.
“How about this? I’ll gift you this. Take a month off of budgeting. Just take a month off. See how it feels,” he said. “It’s like you’ve been counting calories your whole life and I’m going, hey, just eat the meal and enjoy it.”
