I especially like this Ben, “A budget is a reflection of your priorities. If saving $550 per month is a financial priority, then that needs to be reflected in your monthly budget.” So true!

Stated differently — if you want to know your true priorities, look at what you’re spending money on. If you don’t like what you see, you have three options:

1. The ostrich approach — ignore and hope it goes away (which it won’t)
2. The pragmatic approach — accept your true priorities and give up your stated ideals (you already gave up the real ones anyway so at least be honest with yourself)
3. The courageous approach —acknowledge that you haven’t been acting in alignment with your ideals, and change your habits to match those ideals from now on (this is the hardest one, but the one that, in the long run, will give you the most satisfaction and the happiest outcomes)