5 Steps to Grow Rich Without a Budget

If you don’t have a budget, you’re not alone. A U.S Bank study found that only 41% of Americans have one. While keeping a close eye on income and expenses can be the key to making better financial decisions, it’s also possible to build wealth without a budget.

No matter if budgeting just hasn’t made it to the top of your “to do” list or you’ve tried it with lackluster success, I’ll give you 5 steps to grow rich without a budget. Many people, including me, have found smart ways to manage money and achieve financial success without being preoccupied with every penny.

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What Is a Budget?

You’re probably familiar with the idea of a budget, even if you’ve never kept one. A personal budget allocates your expected income to certain expense categories, such as housing, food, debt repayment, and savings.

You create categories and subcategories for all the ways you spend money and set limits on each one. Then you compare the budgeted amounts to what you really spend and make cuts or reallocate funds from one category to another, so you don’t go overboard.

If this sounds like an overwhelming math problem, you’re probably one of the 41% who don’t have a budget!

Budgets are often compared to diets because they seem like a temporary, mad dash to meet a short-term goal.

Budgets become a real brain-buster when you don’t have regular or reliable income. If you’re self-employed, get paid on commission, or qualify for a bonus plan, you may have given up on budgets because you don’t know exactly how much you’ll earn from month to month.

Another wrinkle is that we don’t always spend the same amount per month on each expense category, such as insurance, healthcare, food, or utilities. You can make an estimate by calculating how much you spent last year and dividing by 12. But you may not...

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