Come on down! You're the next contestant on...

Raise your hand if you like budgeting your money.

Put your hand down, boyfriend!

Is YOUR hand up?

Let’s be honest, budgets can be a pain.in.the.arse.

I’m probably one in a handful of people who ENJOYS budgeting. Whether that’s budgeting my daily food intake, my money, what I’m going to do with my weekend, you name it.  I LOVE to budget and plan. It's the control freak in me. 

Unfortunately, that’s not the case with everyone. 

Budgeting your money doesn’t have to be boring and it doesn’t have to make you feel like the world has sucked you dry out of every imaginable joy in life. One of my favorite blogs, Get Rich Slowly, recently featured an article about turning money management into a game. Now THIS is a game I can get behind!

J.D. offers up some pretty sweet suggestions:

· Think of your income as your score. The more you bring in for the month, the higher your score.

· Make a game out of dining out. What are coupons you can find? How far can you stretch your dollar?

· Make a paper chain representing your debt. Each time you pay off a certain amount, cut a link off the chain.

For me, I feel personal gratification at the end of every month when my budgeted categories did not exceed my initial budget. I WON the game for the month! It's ESPECIALLY exciting when I've got money left over. 

It’s almost like watching The Price is Right. Can YOU get as close to that value without going over?