You Don't Need a Budget

the personal finance industry has a secret: its advice often comes from people who’ve never had to wait for a paycheck to clear before buying groceries.

author dana miranda discovered this disconnect firsthand after moving from earning $12,000 as a freelance writer to $42,000 at a personal finance media startup. during an editorial meeting discussing a study of consumer purchasing habits, her middle-class colleagues were surprised to learn that many americans lack access to credit. this moment revealed a deeper truth: the personal finance industry operates almost exclusively from a middle-class perspective, systematically overlooking the lived experiences of many americans.

this chapter offers a radical reimagining of your relationship with money – one that prioritizes mental wellbeing and autonomy over strict budgeting and obsessive tracking. you’ll discover why traditional budgeting might be making you more anxious, not less. and you’ll gain insight into how cultural programming around work and money might be limiting your choices without you realizing it. 

most importantly, you’ll find permission to question financial “rules” that don’t serve you and start making decisions based on what really matters to you.

budget advice can sound simple enough: track every penny, cut back on luxuries, and watch your wealth grow. but as miranda sees it, traditional “budget culture” is flawed. it’s rooted in restriction, shame, and the belief that following the right rules leads to wealth. from dave ramsey’s seven-step plan to financial peace to the infamous “latte factor,” which suggests that skipping small luxuries creates millionaires, these approaches all share a common flaw: they focus entirely on individual behavior while ignoring systemic barriers and economic realities.

despite increased access to financial literacy programs, racial and class wealth gaps remain. studies show that parental income predicts a child’s future earnings more than financial education does. yet the financial education industry keeps pushing individual responsibility as the only path to wealth and security. 

miranda offers a radical alternative: a “budget-free” approach that rejects traditional budgeting entirely. rather than offering another set of rigid rules, this framework acknowledges the complexity of individual financial circumstances as well as the broader systemic context. it focuses on understanding financial systems and finding ways to work with them, rather than trying to force change through strict self-discipline or spending limits.

the path forward lies not in finding the perfect budget or mastering self-discipline, but in a deeper understanding of how financial systems work and how individuals can maintain their well-being within them – all while pushing for systemic change. 

what if everything you’ve been told about budgeting is actually harming your relationship with money?

traditional financial advice encourages constant vigilance – tracking every dollar spent and saved. money begins to overshadow every decision, from your career to what’s in your grocery cart. it’s like a news ticker running constantly through your mind. the effort to track spending, categorize expenses, and weigh each purchase against a strict plan can turn into a kind of financial hyper-awareness that increases stress instead of reducing it.

there’s a better way to approach financial decisions; one that doesn’t require obsessing over every purchase. instead of obsessing over the small stuff, focus on the big choices – what stephen covey famously calls our “big rocks.”

consider this demonstration: a lecturer places a large jar on a table and fills it with fist-sized rocks until no more can fit. “is it full?” the lecturer asks. the students nod. then the lecturer takes some small pebbles, pouring some of them into the jar, where they fit in the spaces between the rocks. “how about now?” again, the students agree. next, the lecturer pours sand, filling yet smaller gaps. and finally she pours in water, filling in even more space. the point isn’t about clever packing – it’s about priorities. if you’d started with the water or sand, there would have been no room for the big rocks.

this idea translates directly to managing money. the big rocks are life’s fundamental choices – choices that shape our financial wellbeing far more than daily spending decisions. marian’s story illustrates this beautifully. she didn’t find stability through meticulous budgeting, but by making intentional decisions about her life. she chose to have one child instead of multiple children, significantly reducing long-term expenses. she prioritized building a career she could control, allowing her to pick up her kid from school instead of paying for aftercare. she selected a living situation that balanced cost with quality of life. 

these big-picture decisions – like where to live, which career to pursue, how to plan your family, or what kind of education to seek – shape your financial health more than worrying about every small expense. yet traditional budgeting keeps us focused on the opposite: tracking grocery bills, categorizing every coffee purchase, fretting over streaming subscriptions. it’s like obsessing over every teaspoon of sand while ignoring the big rocks in the jar. 

if you think that managing money requires complex budgeting systems, think again. here’s a straightforward way to start: focus on covering the essentials.

the first step is to put your regular financial commitments on autopilot. this means setting up automatic payments for your fixed expenses – rent, utilities, insurance, loan payments. next, handle your key financial goals: automatic transfers to retirement accounts, savings for a house down payment, or an emergency fund. you might also include regular charitable giving or family support. the key is to handle all of these through automation – whether it’s your bank’s systems, direct deposits, or scheduled transfers.

once these essentials are covered, what’s left becomes your yes fund – money you can spend without constantly checking balances or categorizing purchases. want to grab dinner with friends? check your yes fund. thinking about booking a weekend trip? look at your yes fund balance. there’s no need to wonder whether you’re exceeding your “entertainment budget” or “travel allowance.” you know that your essential commitments and goals are already taken care of.

this system also recognizes that not spending money carries its own significant consequences. skipping a dinner with friends might save money, but at what cost to your social life? traditional budgeting rarely accounts for these hidden costs of frugality.

this approach provides clear information about the consequences of your spending choices. if a purchase would exceed your yes fund, you know it would either impact your automated goals or increase debt. the point isn’t to limit spending but to make financial decisions with a clear understanding of the trade-offs.

think of it as similar to how you might manage your time. once you’ve blocked out hours for work, sleep, and essential commitments, you can use your remaining time freely without constantly checking a schedule. the yes fund creates the same kind of freedom with money without the burden of tracking every dollar.

the words “protestant work ethic” may sound outdated, but its influence still lingers today. though largely detached from its religious origins, this belief system has become the invisible operating system of every office, startup, and workplace in america. it doesn’t just shape how we work, but our very sense of self-worth.

cultural programming runs deep, showing up in ways both obvious and subtle. we judge ourselves and others based on markers of productivity, prioritizing paid work outside the home while devaluing the essential labor of caregiving and community building. 

we’re taught to embrace “hustle culture,” celebrate exhaustion as a badge of honor, and accept increasingly demanding conditions as the price of success. this mindset hits especially hard for those in mission-driven or “passion” work. they often accept low pay and unsustainable conditions because it feels tied to a greater cause.

but there are ways to reclaim autonomy within this system. entrepreneurship can offer control over time and working conditions, while freelancing provides flexibility and choice of clients. worker cooperatives provide democratic ownership and decision-making structures that distribute both power and profits more equitably. labor unions, despite declining membership, still offer the power of collective bargaining within traditional structures. 

one example of an alternative model comes from the guerrilla media collective, a translation agency. their cooperative model explicitly values three types of work equally: client-paid work, pro bono community contributions, and the often-invisible care work that keeps organizations running. this stands in stark contrast to traditional corporate structures that focus almost exclusively on revenue-generating tasks.

when jennie and meredyth decided to trade their la apartment for a 112-square-foot airstream trailer, they weren’t running from their bills – they were running toward freedom. the couple had previously “upgraded” their way into a chinatown apartment they could barely afford, a common story in major cities. but when meredyth, a successful school administrator, realized she was ready to leave her career in education, they faced a pivotal choice. 

they could do the “responsible” thing – wait a year or two, build up savings, keep paying their expensive rent. instead, they chose something radical: financing a small trailer and an suv, breaking their lease, and hitting the road.

some might see their story as one of escaping responsibility, but the author frames it differently: it’s about questioning our assumptions around financial obligations. jennie had spent fifteen years building her coaching business while meredyth’s steady income supported them. now it was meredyth’s turn to pursue her dreams, and no amount of conventional financial wisdom was going to stand in their way. their solution wasn’t to downsize within the traditional system, but to step outside it entirely.

we’re often taught to think of our monthly expenses as fixed and inevitable, like forces of nature rather than choices we can control. rent, car payments, utilities – these bills arrive like clockwork, each bearing the weight of seeming permanence. but every financial obligation is, at its core, simply a commitment we’ve chosen to make. and what we can commit to, we can also uncommit from.

when money is tight, we’re taught to feel moral shame for prioritizing one bill over another. this “budget culture” weaponizes guilt to keep us paying regardless of our circumstances. but bills aren’t moral obligations – they’re business agreements with specific, manageable consequences. late fees, service interruptions, credit score impacts – these are practical challenges to navigate, not divine punishment for financial sin.

every commitment comes with consequences for breaking it, but understanding those consequences lets you make clear-eyed decisions about what serves your life and what doesn’t. for instance, paying a $2,000 lease-break fee might seem steep until you compare it to the $24,000 you’d spend finishing out a year’s lease on an apartment that no longer serves you. similarly, taking a small hit to your credit score by negotiating a debt settlement could save tens of thousands in interest payments over time. even utility bills become more flexible when you understand that many companies offer payment plans and that most states have seasonal restrictions on service disconnections. 

this shift in perspective reveals options where we once only saw obligations. it lets us ask essential questions: does this commitment still serve my goals? what would happen if i changed or ended it? what alternatives exist? the specific solution is less important than recognizing your power to choose it. 

when marian found herself approaching retirement with only modest savings, she didn’t panic and pour everything into the stock market. instead, she and her daughter anna turned their shared passion for rv travel into a unique business venture. they created a platform connecting rv travelers with hosts willing to share their property for overnight stays – like airbnb for the rv community. years later, they sold the business for seven figures, giving marian the retirement security she needed without ever relying on the markets.

stories like marian’s challenge the idea that long-term wealth depends on stock market investing. the financial industry has mastered the art of making investing seem both inevitable and magical – a source of "free money" that only a fool would ignore. this narrative conveniently overlooks both the system’s inherent inequalities and the existence of alternative paths to building long-term wealth.

investment also raises unavoidable ethical questions. when corporate profits depend on resource extraction and labor exploitation, is truly “ethical” investing even possible? even socially responsible investing options remain fundamentally tied to maximizing profits.

but there are other ways to build wealth. take peer-to-peer lending platforms, which enable direct community support while generating returns. through apps like solo funds, individuals can help others cover unexpected expenses while earning tips that often exceed traditional market returns. local business investment offers another path – one where you can directly oversee how your money is used and ensure it benefits your community.  

financial guidance can also be more accessible than it seems. while many assume professional financial advice is out of reach, free resources abound – particularly through employer benefits programs. hr representatives and retirement plan custodians can provide crucial information about plan options, employer contributions, and fees. when seeking paid guidance, the key is finding fiduciary, fee-only financial planners who are legally bound to act in your interest, rather than commission-based sales people pushing products.

whether choosing traditional investment vehicles, alternative wealth-building strategies, or some combination of both, the key is understanding your options and making informed choices that align with your values. there’s no universal formula for wealth, but there are always alternatives worth exploring. 

the main takeaway of this chapter to you don’t need a budget by dana miranda is that, by promoting shame, restriction, and an oversimplified view of wealth-building, traditional budgeting culture does more harm than good.

instead of obsessing over daily spending and rigid budgets, focus on the big-picture decisions that most impact your financial health. set up automation for essentials, then use a yes fund for guilt-free spending. question the work-centric value system that drives many of our financial choices, and remember that financial commitments are choices we can change, not moral obligations. there are many paths to building wealth beyond traditional market investing, from entrepreneurship to community-based alternatives. the key is understanding your options and making informed choices that align with both your goals and your values. 

okay, that’s it for this chapter. we hope you enjoyed it. if you can, please take the time to leave us a rating – we always appreciate your feedback. see you in the next chapter.