You Don't Need a Budget

Track every dollar you spend. Check your account balances once a week. Always pay off your credit card bill in full. Make a budget-and stick to it. These are just a few of the edicts you'll find in virtually every personal finance book. But this kind of rigid, one-size-fits-all advice-usually written for and by wealthy white men (and a few women) with little perspective on the money struggles that many people face-is unrealistic, and only creates stress and shame.

As a financial journalist and educator, Dana Miranda is on a mission to liberate readers from budget culture: the damaging set of beliefs around money that rely on restriction, shame, and greed-much like diet culture does for food and bodies. In this long-overdue alternative to traditional budgeting advice, Miranda offers a new approach that makes money easy for everyone, regardless of the numbers in their bank account.

Full of counterintuitive advice-like how to use debt to support your life goals, how to plan for retirement without a 401K, and how to take advantage of resources that exist to support those left behind by the forces of capitalism-You Don't Need a Budget will empower readers to get money off their mind and live the lives they want.

"If you've struggled with overspending your budget, read this book before making another one! Dana Miranda gets to the root cause of why budgeting brings so much shame and offers practical advice for solving unique problems."--Jen Smith, Co-Host of Frugal Friends Podcast & Author of Buy What You Love Without Going Broke
"You Don't Need a Budget offers a fresh reset to the rigid rules of personal finance. I recommend Dana's advice to anyone who feels shamed or disheartened by budget culture."--Chris Guillebeau, Author of The $100 Startup and Time Anxiety
"A radical take on managing your money in the modern age. If you've ever felt like traditional personal finance advice just didn't work for you--no matter how hard you tried--this book will help you see your money in a new light. Miranda's sharp storytelling is a comfort that asserts you're not alone in striving to build a life that's more honest and less transactional."--Lisa Rowan, author of MONEY HACKS
"In today's climate of increased openness about mental health, You Don't Need a Budget is the personal finance book we need. Dana Miranda challenges the budget culture and debt shaming that's exacerbated the financial anxiety of many Americans and built media empires for some personal finance influencers, while overturning notions about budgeting, credit card debt and financial well-being. If you've ever felt disconnected from mainstream personal finance advice and crave a fresh approach, look no further than You Don't Need a Budget."--David and John Auten-Schneider, creators of Debt Free Guys and hosts of Queer Money podcast
"Most personal finance books give all the same advice. Dana Miranda does not. In YDNAB, she offers a refreshing alternative unlike anything I've read before. It will make you question everything you've been told about money, and change your relationship with it forever."--Cait Flanders, author of THE YEAR OF LESS and ADVENTURES IN OPTING OUT

Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF ) and a personal finance journalist. After leaving a leadership position with a popular financial media startup and spending two years as a freelance writer, she created Healthy Rich to change the way we talk about money. Dana has shared her expertise as a contributor to Forbes, Business Insider, the New York Times, CNBC, NextAdvisor, Culture Study, The Motley Fool, Money magazine, The Penny Hoarder, and Inc. magazine; and Healthy Rich has been featured in publications including Bankrate, Real Simple, and Forbes, where it was named a safe resource for LGBTQ+ financial education in 2022.

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