The Ten Percent Solution

 

about budgeting. I'll allot so much of my income for this, so much for that, et cetera, et cetera, and at the end of the month, I'll have so much left over. But as each of us knows all too well, something goes wrong. Money keeps running out before the month does.

"You know, it's funny. When I took over the shop, it was obvious that cost management hadn't been one of my father's strengths. I designed a detailed budget that covered all my potential expenses. I stuck to it like glue. That budget played a major part in my early success. To this day, I still do a shop budget once a year. And I still stick to it.

"After a couple of years running the shop, I couldn't understand how my personal budget could be such a waste of time, while my business budget worked like a charm. I discussed the situation with Old Mr. White. I'll never forget his reply. 'Roy, my young friend,' he said, 'a business only has to budget for needs. It's in the best interest of the business to limit those needs as much as possible. An individual, on the other hand, must budget for both needs and wants. It is a rare person who can do that successfully because, for too many people, a want becomes a need.'

"And it's so true! Did I need a new car in my second year of business, or did I just want one? Cathy, did you need to get away to Europe last winter, or did you just want to? Tom, did you need, or just want, the best stereo avail-able? It's human nature to spend our entire disposable in-come and to rationalize all those expenditures as needs."

"Good point, Roy, but you have to have some fun, too. One of the reasons I make money is to spend it on things I like," I argued.

"Young people of all generations think alike, Dave. That's exactly what I said to Mr. White. Remember, I grew