Since I was a tiny pope, I’ve always been good with budgeting. I’d carefully plan my larger purchases (usually books or LPs) then steadily add the money to an ashtray in my knicker drawer. I’ve no idea why I didn’t use a piggy bank like a normal person. But, hey, it worked. The money I saved as a child actually got me out of a few pickles in my twenties. All those Saturday jobs, paper rounds, and holiday gigs added up – especially when interest rates were high. As the years progressed, though, and my responsibilities changed, I found it harder rather than easier to budget.

It seems I’m not alone. I recently came across Dana Miranda’s book You Don’t Need a Budget. As a long-time user of the app You Need a Budget, I was intrigued. Former financial journalist Miranda believes budget culture is toxic. This rigid, one-size-fits-all advice creates stress and shame, similar to diet culture. As she points out, if you’re living in poverty, budgeting is futile. It doesn’t matter how much well-meaning advice you receive, only a genuinely liveable income is going to solve your problems.

While I’m fortunate in being financially secure at the moment, I’ve noticed the futility of budgets for another reason: life just isn’t that predictable. Although I’d diligently saved £500 (in a bank, not an ashtray) to cover the costs of random household stuff, I was recently hit by an appliance conspiracy: within a couple of months, the washing machine, dishwasher, microwave, and toaster all decided to expire. At the same time, a big lump of brickwork broke free from my roof. I’m certainly glad of that £500, but I’m still short by about £6,000. I’ll be borrowing that money from my future self, who was hoping to retire before she’s 90. Perhaps I should get another paper round.

Instead of trying to predict what’s going to go wrong next, I’m experimenting with being uncharacteristically laid back. Provided I’m in the privileged position of having some way to pay those bills, the category doesn’t matter. Although these expenses were unwelcome, they also provided an opportunity to support small businesses in my local economy. Perhaps I don’t need a budget after all.

This post is part of the Tiny Experiments series.