How to Finally Get Control of Your Personal Spending (Without a Budget)

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Why Traditional Budgets Don’t Work (and What to Do Instead)

Most chiropractors have tried budgeting at some point — and most end up frustrated. The problem isn’t a lack of discipline or math skills. It’s that budgets don’t work with human behaviour.

They’re rigid, time-consuming, and often filled with guilt. You plan it out, track every dollar for a few weeks, and then life happens — an unexpected expense, a busy month, or just fatigue from tracking every transaction. Soon, the spreadsheet gets ignored, and you’re back to square one.

If this sounds familiar, there’s a better way. It’s called Behavioural Cash Flow Planning.

What Is Behavioural Cash Flow Planning?

Behavioural Cash Flow Planning is a system — not a spreadsheet — that helps you manage money in a way that works with real human behaviour. Instead of tracking every category or forcing yourself to follow unrealistic spending limits, it focuses on creating guardrails that make smart financial decisions automatic.

At its core, this system divides your money into two categories:

1. Committed Cash Flow

These are the expenses that have no emotion or joy attached to them. They’re things you have to pay, whether you like it or not — your mortgage, utilities, insurance, vehicle payments, phone bills, or student loan payments.

They’re “committed” because they’re part of keeping your life and practice running. These should be paid from one primary account — ideally your joint checking account if you have a partner — so that all the boring, predictable stuff happens automatically.

2. Spendable Cash Flow

Your spendable (or discretionary) cash flow is where your emotional spending happens — groceries, eating out, hobbies, clothes, Amazon orders, etc. These are variable and tied to emotion and convenience.

Instead of trying to micro-manage these categories, you simply give yourself a weekly or monthly allowance to spend however you want. This approach gives you freedom within boundaries — no guilt, no tracking apps, no spreadsheets.

Why Traditional Budgets Fail

Our brains aren’t wired for budgeting. Modern spending is frictionless — tap your phone, click once, and it’s done. Credit is easily available, and delayed gratification is harder than ever.

That’s why most budgets fail. They rely on constant willpower and self-control instead of designing a system that automatically supports better decisions.

As James Clear wrote, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
That’s exactly why a behavioral system works — it aligns your habits with your goals.

The Power of a Two-Account System

Here’s the foundation of how the Behavioral Cash Flow system works in practice:

• Step 1: Have your income flow into your Committed Cash Flow Account.
  This account pays for your mortgage, rent, utilities, debt payments, insurance, and other essential expenses.
• Step 2: From there, transfer a set amount into your Spendable Account every week or month.
  This is the money you’re free to spend however you want. The key is separation — this money should live in a different account or on a separate card.

When that spendable money runs out, it’s gone until the next transfer.
No overdrafts. No guesswork. No guilt.

A Real Case Study: Luke and Leah

To see how this works, let’s look at a case study.

Luke and Leah are a young couple — Leah is a chiropractor earning $120,000 a year, and Luke is a data analyst earning $85,000. Their combined net income is roughly $12,700 per month.

They recently bought a home for $600,000 and are planning to start a family. Between student loans, vehicle payments, and a new mortgage, their monthly committed expenses total $8,111.

That leaves roughly $4,600 per month of unallocated income.

Here’s how we helped them turn that into a clear plan:

1. Establish a spendable amount.
   Based on their habits, we set aside $3,000/month ($700/week) as their combined “spendable” amount. This covers groceries, eating out, hobbies, and all emotional spending.
2. Automate goals and savings.
   With $1,600 left over, we prioritized the following:
   • $300/month toward an emergency fund
   • $250/month for disability insurance
   • $60/month for critical illness coverage
   • $80/month for life insurance
   • $250/month toward a maternity leave fund
   • $250/month toward travel savings
   • The rest went toward additional investing and a small buffer for flexibility
3. Adjust as needed.
   As their awareness grows, they can tweak their spendable amount, increase savings, or reallocate money toward short-term goals. It’s flexible and sustainable — not restrictive.

The result? Clarity, peace of mind, and a sense of control over where every dollar goes — without a “budget.”

The Tool That Makes It Simple

For the “spendable” portion, one of our favourite tools is KOHO — a prepaid MasterCard that works like a debit card but gives you visibility and control. You preload your weekly or monthly spendable amount, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

No overdrafts. No temptation to dip into other accounts.
Many couples find that it’s the first time they’ve felt truly in control of spending — and it often reduces arguments about money.

How to Get Started

If you’re new to this, start simple:

1. Track what’s currently coming in and out of your accounts — no judgment, just awareness.
2. Separate your committed expenses from your emotional spending.
3. Set a realistic weekly or monthly “spendable” amount.
4. Use a separate account or card to make it easy to track.
5. Revisit monthly to make small adjustments and celebrate progress.

This approach works because it’s built around behaviour, not discipline. It gives structure without shame, clarity without complexity, and freedom without chaos.

The Bottom Line

Budgets may look great on paper, but real financial success comes from systems that work with your life — not against it.

A Behavioural Cash Flow Plan helps chiropractors and their families spend with intention, save with purpose, and live with confidence.

When your money has a plan, your mind can finally relax.

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