Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the greatest musical geniuses to ever grace the globe. Growing up as a musician, I learned about him through his music and his undeniably tragic life story. But it wasn’t until I read Greg McKeown’s new book, Effortless, that I learned of another one of Beethoven’s obsessions, and it’s one that many of us share with him—a love of coffee.
What’s instructive about Beethoven’s love of coffee, however, is not so much that he enjoyed it, but how. He would count out precisely 60 beans to start his day, the amount he believed to be the optimal number for the perfect cup of coffee.
It wasn’t a habit so much as a ritual.
So what’s the difference, and how can we apply this mindset in our own lives, even in our household management of money?
“We turn habits into rituals by pairing them with something we love to do,” McKeown says. “When we do this, we have the power to transform a tedious task into an experience that creates joy.”
“Our rituals are habits we have put our thumbprint on. Our rituals are habits with a soul.”
Rituals are habits with a soul.
That’s good. Really good.
But what about budgeting? It’s like the dental floss of financial planning, the thing that everybody knows they’re supposed to do but few really do.
Is there a way to turn this tedious chore into an effective habit, or better yet, into a life-giving ritual?
Yes, let’s simply apply McKeown’s advice to see if we can’t make this an effortless exercise. He suggests that we pair something we should do—budgeting—with something we want to do. I’m going to take it a couple steps further to help kickstart your ritual, but I invite you to customize every aspect of this as you desire. Whatever works, works.
1) Choose a time – Part of making habits stick is finding a consistent rhythm, so let’s choose a recurring, repeatable time. Furthermore, let’s choose a time that is well suited to the exercise. My personal preference is Saturday mid-morning. This gives me the chance to sleep in or go out to breakfast or squeeze in a paddle surfing sesh without overlapping with afternoon errands or compelling college football games. And yes, while we tend to establish our budgets on a monthly basis, a weekly rhythm of review and reconciliation helps ensure that we can calibrate our spending and saving throughout the month.
2) Choose a space – Find a space where you won’t be distracted and a place that is inviting. Maybe it’s in a particular room of the house, your favorite chair, or your neighborhood coffee shop, but it’s a place where you actually want to be for 30-to-60 minutes that is conducive to the task at hand.
3) Choose a tool – There are many—too many—financial and budgeting apps now. I think the easiest to use is Mint, and I think the most effective is YNAB (You Need A Budget). In both cases, the big advantage is that they will download all of your financial transactions—no more crumpled up receipts—and once the software gets to know you, it’ll also help categorize your spending in your chosen categories. Both give you the ability to see all of your financial world in one location, but what I especially like about YNAB is its mechanism to ensure that you’re not living paycheck-to-paycheck. And they’ve inspired such a passionate group of followers that you’ll find an endless stream of support, in addition to a host of great instructional videos.
4) Choose your pairing – Remember, McKeown said that the best way to turn a habit into a ritual is to pair it with something you love. How can you do that here? Personally, I “pair” my budgeting ritual with three things I love: good music in the background, a piece of dark chocolate, and a cup of strong black coffee. (While I confess I don’t count each individual bean, I hope ol’ Ludwig would be proud.)
Do you see how I’m taking this exercise from rote to ritual? I brew my coffee, choose an album, grab a piece of chocolate, and sit down with my laptop in a welcoming setting. As long as I don’t miss a week, I’m typically done in 20 minutes, with the exception of month end, when it might be 30.
And perhaps best of all, much like the catharsis of a runner’s high, I experience a sense of peace and satisfaction when I’m done. When I shut the laptop, it’s a symbolic sign that my household finances are under control. Better yet, if I’ve done a good job staying in my lane that week, it’s altogether likely that I’m able to deploy some surplus to enhance the weekend’s plans.
There are those who make budgeting and money management a moral issue, lathering on a huge helping of should and shame to incite change—change that unfortunately doesn’t often stick. Yet I think the best things in life are those to which we are drawn, not compelled. And with a little creativity, you can craft inviting rituals for those practices in life that, while necessary, can also become enjoyable. Even budgeting.