Living within a budget

In short no they do not contridict each other.

A person cannot say he has bitachon and then go and spend money on whatever they want. in fact i would imagine that most people with REAL bitachon live very simple lives and calculate their money wisely.

The chovat halavavot in ??? ?????? ??? ? speaks about the differences between the person who has bitachon and works for his parnassa to the person who works and does not have bitachon. It is worth reading. It would apply to living by a budget as well.

Oh! and I thought this would give tips on how to stay within your budget! 🙁

no thats called being irresponsible. Bitachon means buying what you need and being reasonable and responsible but knowing that things will come up and you wont know how you’re going to be paying for them, but thats where bitachon comes in. Just my opinion. very humble opinion

Wolf – Thats exactly the question, does bitachon tell you not to have a budget?

But what is it about setting a budget that might indicate a lack of bitachon?

You didn’t ask about tying one’s shoelaces, or drinking Sprite or purchasing a lock for your steering column. What is it about budgeting, in particular, that would lead you to think that there might be some lack of bitachon on the part of those doing it?

The Wolf

That is foolish and looking for an excuse to be irresponsible.

Do you know the hebrew word for “insurance”? That is also “bitachon”. Think about that for a second. If you want to insure that you are responsible and doing the right thing, and not have to depend on others, or making a chilul Hahsem. Make a budget and live within your means. Don’t expect Hashem to rain money down on your head.

bitachon has to be complimented with hishtadlus the reason Yosef was punished was because he asked twice

Is it a lack of bitachon to live within a budget, and to have (almsot) every penny figured out?

No, but if taken to an extreme it might be emotionally unhealthy.

Thank you menachem. But it all comes from the same “shoresh” doesn’t it? And all connected?

Now maybe I should say, if you want the “security” of living appropriately and not making a chilul Hashem, and not adding extra stress to your lives, then live with a budget and within your means and don’t count on Hashem raining money down on yours heads.

“Is it a lack of bitachon to live within a budget, and to have (almsot) every penny figured out?”

No. While everything belongs to HaShem, we have no idea how much He will allocate to us in any particular period of time. (Unless, of course, we are prophets, and there hasn’t been one for a very long time.) Therefore, NOT to live within a budget is wasting HaShem’s precious resources.

So if I am understanding M in Israel, I would say that you should go along with the principle that “this is what Hashem is giving me, therefore I must budget myself according to this amount”.

“Is it a lack of bitachon to live within a budget, and to have (almost) every penny figured out?”

Would you say that standing in the middle of a busy highway shows bitachon?

r-b

precisely my point

r-b,

If you have a job which pats $40,000 a year, and your budget is to spend $50,000, you’re relying on a nes.

aries — That is exactly what I am saying — you summed it up in one sentence.

real-brisker — Budgeting does not mean you are assuming nothing will change, and it doesn’t have to mean planning all your expenditures for the year. Some people budget monthly or even weekly. The idea of budgeting is that you live within your means by planning and keeping track of your spending. If Hashem gives you more you can then spend more — but to spend it in advance with the excuse that “Hashem will provide whatever I choose to spend” seems like bizarre reasoning to me.

Perhaps what is bothering you is the second part of your question “have almost every penny figured out”. Thinking that you have figured everything out does seem to indicate some lack of bitachon. I don’t think most responsible spenders believe they have “almost every penny figured out”. There are always unexpected expenses that come up, and there also may often be unexpected money received. If someone has a real unexpected need come up (medical treatment for example), there certainly is the concept of bitachon that you do what you can and trust that Hashem runs the world and whatever is happening is meant to be. If you are meant to loose all your money, all the responsible planning in the world won’t change it, and if you are meant to be rich the fact that you currently work at a $20,000 a year job won’t prevent it. That still does not give you the right to spend money you don’t have!

Again I’m not sure where budgeting sends the message that you believe the money is coming from a Basar V’Dam rather than Hashem. If you are uncomfortable budgeting in advance, work backwards — only spend money Hashem has already given you. So plan next month’s expenditures based on what you made this month, and if Hashem provides you with more next month, you can increase your budget for the month afterwards.

Would you say a person should just go out and buy the most expensive home on the market, and have bitachon that Hashem will give him the money to pay off the mortgage, even though there is no al pi derech hatevah way to get it? If anything I would say spending less or more cautiously is more indicative of bitachon, as you recognize that even though you have a current salary of “x” dollars, it is not in your control if that will continue, so how can you commit to payments in the future? No matter how good a moneymaker you think you are, Hashem is ultimately in charge of how much money you make. (I’m not saying that is correct, I’m just trying to logically follow your train of thought.)

From a mussar perspective it would seem lack of bitachon is more associated with having plenty and feeling that it is to your credit (“v’ram livavecha veshachachta as Hashem”), rather than not believing Hashem can give you more.