"I’m an organized person. I use Notion to keep track of everything in my life, a physical calendar to plan my dates, and the Google Tasks feature hates to see me coming. But for some reason, budgeting never seemed to stick. I’ve been in low-spend seasons where I’ve set and reached ambitious savings goals, and I’ve embraced my inner Carrie a little too much in other seasons, worrying that I, too, would end up the little old woman who lived in a shoe. One second, I’m locked in with a budget, and the next, I have packages on my doorstep that I don’t remember buying.
“Sorry, can’t make it tonight.”
During these extravagant splurge sprees, I tap my card with the same refrain: “I just want to enjoy my life.” Shouldn’t I get to do this without feeling guilty? After enough yo-yo-ing, I decided I didn’t want to drag my feet with dread back to my old budget; I wanted to enjoy my life and reach my financial goals—I just had to figure out a way to do it. The solution: Thinking of my budget as a spending plan instead, as encouraged by Chloe Elise of Deeper Than Money.
While the basic principles are similar, a spending plan encourages you to prioritize flexibility and alignment with your money—which is definitely more my speed. After incorporating the surprisingly simple shift, I can confidently say that my relationship with money has changed for the better and has successfully kept me out of my toxic Carrie-inspired cycle. Here’s how it works:
What is a spending plan?
At first glance, “budget” and “spending plan” might seem interchangeable—they both track money coming in and going out. But there’s a key difference: mindset. A spending plan isn’t just about making sure every dollar is neatly assigned to a rigid category. Instead, it’s a framework for using money in alignment with your values. At the end of the month, rather than asking, “Did I spend too much?” or “Did I save enough?” a spending plan prompts a more meaningful question: “Did I use my money in alignment with my values?”
As Elise puts it, “Every dollar that crosses my path is used to elevate my life—whether it’s spent on happy hour drinks on the patio, paying off my car loan, or building my emergency fund.” Her spending isn’t just about limits—it’s about prioritizing what matters: time with friends, being debt-free, and financial security. So while both budgets and spending plans track numbers, a spending plan is ultimately about flexibility and intentionality. Instead of focusing on restriction, it shifts the perspective—money isn’t just something to save or control; it’s a tool to design a life you love.
Who would benefit from a spending plan?
If, like me, the word budget conjures up feelings of dread and obligation, it might be a sign that a spending plan is a better fit for you. At its core, a spending plan challenges the traditional way we’ve been taught to think about money, making it a great tool for anyone looking to redefine their financial approach.
This shift in mindset is especially relevant for Gen Z, who, according to a study by Eventbrite, prioritize experiences over material items. (They spend approximately 30 percent more on experiences than millennials did at the same age.) But this doesn’t mean they’re reckless with their money—it simply reflects different priorities. Rather than opting for a pricier apartment, they might choose to allocate extra funds toward time with friends or concert tickets. Whether you’re Gen Z or just share this perspective, a spending plan can help you align your spending with what truly matters to you—without derailing your financial stability.
A spending plan is also potentially liberating for anyone who has been told they’re “bad at money.” Feeling like you can’t do something makes us anxious. And then many of us develop an ostrich approach to our finances. No wonder a recent survey showed that, across generations, 48 percent of women feel stressed and anxious about their finances. And no surprises—Gen Z are the most stressed, with 59 percent reporting money stress and anxiety. With the cost of living crisis, inflation, student loans, and the job market right now, money scarcity feels like the norm. If your budget makes you feel even more like you can’t keep up, try a spending plan.
“A spending plan can help you align your spending with what truly matters to you—without derailing your financial stability.”
How to create a spending plan
1. Identify your values
Before you even put numbers on the page, start with figuring out your values. Make a list of all the things that are important to you. Get super granular, from the things you need for safety and security—like a roof over your head and healthy groceries—to emotional and self-fulfillment needs that fit into your “best life”—like seeing friends or going to workout classes. Once you have an understanding of what you value in life, you are better positioned to account for those things in your spending plan.
2. Review your spending habits
Take a deep breath, log into your bank account, and get real with yourself about where your money is going. What transactions align with your values? Which ones don’t? This temperature check helps you realize the “why?” behind your spending decisions matters as much as the “how much?” If you’re spending money consistently on things you don’t care for (like a pair of shoes you haven’t even worn yet), and it’s affecting the money you have for your other values (like your therapy appointment), that’s important to pinpoint.
3. Get creative with how you can allocate your money
By taking a close look at your values and your spending, you might find that the things that matter to you don’t have to cost a lot of money. So as you make your spending plan, get creative with how you can either allocate or save your money more wisely. For example, instead of vaguely saying I want to spend X amount less on dining out, look at the why behind that and make a plan. If I go out to eat because I like trying new restaurants, I’ll make reservations and plan for how much I’ll spend in advance. If I do it because I like hanging out with friends, I might come up with more cost-effective ways to create community. In this way, I’m actually deepening the friendships I value while reallocating my money to other values.
4. Get organized
Whether you like to see your money on paper, in a budget app, or only in a meeting with your financial advisor is up to you—but you have to get organized. Personally, I like to use a journal and a calendar side by side to plan my spending. I jot down my paydays, due dates for my bills and subscriptions, and any other standing expenses I have, like groceries. Then, when I know how much disposable income I have left, I divvy it up between my plans and my value categories.
“Before, I felt stuck within the guidelines of my budget, but now, I feel like my money is working for me.”
In the order of most to least important, I put in my plans and obligations for the month. I start with special events and social plans, and I even account for little treats. If I’m going to the movies, I know I’ll spend money on tickets and snacks. If I’m catching up with a friend over drinks, I’ll pencil in a reasonable number for mocktails and bar snacks. This approach allows me to see where my money is and how I am allocating my funds to my priorities.
5. Review regularly and adjust
No matter what your spending plan looks like, review it every week. I start my Sunday morning with homemade matcha and go through my purchases to see if I spent in line with my plan. Then I adjust for the next week. This is a key part of a spending plan. The rigidity of a budget might make you feel like change is impossible, or that you have to totally reinvent the wheel to adjust a category, but a spending plan allows you to make small adjustments that add to your life.
Remember that as the seasons change, your spending plan can (and should!) too. For example, if you love getting drinks with friends on the patio in the summer, you might allocate that money in the winter to paying off more of your student loans.
6. Embrace flexibility
A spending plan is like a good vacation itinerary: It should give you enough structure to make sure you’ve seen all the good stuff but also let you deviate from the plan to go with the flow. Maybe I planned on ordering takeout once a week, but I had a hard week, so I did it twice. The next week, I might decide to order my weekly UberEats and shift a different expense or just give up my takeout for the week.
You never know what could come up in your life. But also, having a value-driven spending plan keeps you from unnecessary FOMO spending. I love small concerts but am less fond of festivals or stadium shows. Knowing I value intimate experiences, I will deviate from my plan for a last-minute ticket to a show in a dive bar but not for $500 tickets in a stadium—no matter how much I love the artist. This allows me to adjust with caution and not fall completely off track.
How a spending plan has helped me meet my goals
Just like a restrictive diet or an impossible skincare routine inevitably fails, a restrictive budget does, too, at least for me. Having a more flexible and mindful approach to how I spend my money has helped me get closer to my goals. This isn’t to say that the way I manage my money now is perfectly aligned with my lifestyle, but it’s a lot closer than when I was whipping out my wallet recklessly. Plus, at the end of the month, I don’t feel like I’ve failed. I feel like I have the opportunity to adjust my priorities. Before, I felt stuck within the guidelines of my budget, but now, I feel like my money is working for me.
A spending plan is a reminder that managing money will be part of my life forever. And instead of that feeling daunting, it feels exciting. I can find ways to enjoy my life at any income. Overall, I feel more confident in my choices and feel way less icky about money management.
Langa Chinyoka, Contributing Writer
Langa is a Los Angeles-based writer and strategist. She is currently an editor and content strategist at a marketing agency. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, British Vogue, Highsnobiety, Eyeswoon, Camille Styles, The Good Trade, and more.