The Anti-Budget Budget (The 3 Monthly Numbers You Really Need)

Welcome back to Live Rich Retire Rich.

Let's talk about budgeting. Or more specifically, why most budgeting advice makes you want to throw your laptop out the window.

You've heard it all before. Track every purchase. Categorize your spending. Review your transactions weekly. Use the envelope method. Download this app. Follow this spreadsheet.

And then what happens?

You do it for two weeks. Maybe three if you're motivated. Then life gets busy. You forget to log a few purchases. The guilt creeps in. You stop opening the app altogether. And now you feel worse about money than you did before you started.

Here's what nobody tells you: traditional budgeting doesn't fail because you lack discipline. It fails because it's built for a very specific type of person who genuinely enjoys tracking things. For everyone else, it's a setup for failure.

The good news? You don't need to track every dollar.

You need to know 3 numbers.

Why Traditional Budgeting Doesn't Work

Most budgeting systems assume you have endless time, perfect memory, and a deep love of spreadsheets. They assume your spending fits into neat categories that never overlap. They assume you'll remember to log that coffee at 7am when you were half asleep.

That's not how life works.

Real life has a friend's birthday dinner that's technically "dining out" but also "gifts" but also "social." Real life has unexpected car repairs. Real life has months where everything hits at once and months where you somehow have money left over.

When you inevitably can't keep up with the tracking, the shame spiral begins. You feel like you're bad with money. You avoid looking at your accounts. The avoidance makes things worse.

But here's the truth: most people don't need micromanagement. They need awareness. They need a few key numbers that tell them whether they're moving forward or falling behind.

That's exactly what we're building today.

The 3 Numbers That Actually Matter

Forget the 47 budget categories. These are the only numbers you need to check once a month.

Number 1: Your Net Worth Snapshot

This is your financial scoreboard. Everything else is just plays.

Net worth is simple: add up everything you own (checking, savings, retirement accounts, home equity if you own, investments) and subtract everything you owe (credit cards, student loans, car loans, mortgage).

Assets minus debts. That's it.

The number itself matters less than the trend. Is it higher than it was 6 months ago? 12 months ago? That's the real question.

Don't obsess over small movements. Markets go up and down. Emergency expenses happen. What matters is the long-term direction.

This takes 5 minutes once a month. Add your accounts. Subtract your debts. Write down the number. Done.

Number 2: Your Cash Flow Gap

This is the single most important number for day-to-day financial health.

Cash flow gap = what came in this month minus what went out.

Positive number? You're building wealth. You have more than you spent.

Negative number? You're borrowing from future you. You spent more than you earned.

That's it. This one number tells you more than 50 budget categories ever could.

And here's the liberating part: you don't need to judge what you spent money on. You don't need to categorize it or feel guilty about the restaurant meals. You just need to know: did more come in than go out?

If yes, you're winning.

If no, something needs to shift. Either earn more or spend less somewhere.

Number 3: Your Savings Rate

This is the number that connects present you to future you.

Savings rate = what percentage of your income went toward your future?

This includes retirement contributions, emergency fund deposits, investment purchases, and extra debt payments beyond minimums.

A healthy target is 15-20% of your income. But don't let that number scare you if you're nowhere close. The point is to start where you are and grow it over time.

If you're at 5%, great. Now you know. Next quarter, aim for 7%.

This number keeps you honest about whether you're actually building wealth or just telling yourself you will "someday."

The Anti-Budget System

For those of you who truly hate tracking (and I see you), here's a system that requires almost zero ongoing effort.

It uses 3 accounts.

Account 1: Bills This is for fixed expenses only. Rent or mortgage. Utilities. Insurance. Subscriptions. Car payment. Anything that's roughly the same every month.

Set up auto-pay for everything in this account. You never think about these expenses again.

Account 2: Spending This is your "live rich" money. Groceries, dining out, entertainment, clothes, whatever. This is guilt-free spending because you already handled everything else.

No categories. No tracking. No judgment. If the money is in this account, you can spend it.

Account 3: Future This is where your savings rate lives. Emergency fund. Investment contributions. Extra retirement deposits beyond what your employer takes.

This money is spoken for before you ever see it.

The Monthly Transfer Ritual:

When your paycheck hits, auto-transfer a fixed amount to Bills and a fixed amount to Future. Whatever remains goes to Spending.

Bills + Future are protected first. Spending is what's left.

You make these decisions once. Then the system runs itself. No daily tracking. No willpower required. No guilt when you buy a latte.

The 10-Minute Monthly Check-In

Here's your entire monthly financial review:

• Check your net worth (2 minutes)

• Calculate your cash flow gap (3 minutes)

• Note your savings rate (2 minutes)

• Adjust next month's transfers if needed (3 minutes)

10 minutes total. Once a month. You can do this while drinking your morning coffee.

No spreadsheets. No apps. No categorizing 200 transactions.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Sarah makes $6,000 per month after taxes.

Her Bills account gets $2,500. That covers rent, utilities, car insurance, phone, and subscriptions. Everything auto-pays.

Her Future account gets $900. That's a 15% savings rate split between her emergency fund and a Roth IRA.

Her Spending account gets $2,600. That's for groceries, gas, dining out, clothes, entertainment, and whatever else she wants.

Once a month, Sarah checks her 3 numbers. Net worth: up $800 from last month. Cash flow gap: positive $200. Savings rate: 15%.

She's winning. And she never tracked a single purchase.

The Real Point

This isn't about restriction. It's about clarity.

When you know your 3 numbers, you can spend freely on what actually matters to you. You stop spending unconsciously on things that don't. You stop feeling guilty about enjoying your money because you know your future is handled.

That's living rich now. That's building for later. Both at once.

You don't have to choose.

Let's Make This Real

If you want help setting up your 3-account system or figuring out your numbers, book a clarity call. Fifteen minutes, no pressure, just a real conversation about where you are and what's possible.

Book your call here

With love and abundance,
Najma Zanelli
Explore Offerings
Founder, NAZ Global Consultancy
Follow me on IG: @najma_zanelli
Email: [email protected]

P.S. Know someone who's been beating themselves up about budgeting? Forward this to them. Sometimes the best gift is permission to stop doing something that was never going to work anyway.