Zumba and budgeting: Conquering two fears together

If you follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, you’re probably well aware of the fact that my exercise of choice is Zumba. I absolutely love it. It’s fun, enjoyable, it works, and I may or may not do it about 4-5 hours per week. Occasionally more.

But before I really got into it, I was terrified of trying. I thought I would look like a fool since dancing really isn’t my forte. I figured I’d fall, trip over my feet, go the wrong direction, or commit some other embarrassing act. The thing is, though, I was wrong. Utterly and completely wrong. Sure, it took some getting used to but now that I’ve been doing it for 9 months and I go regularly, I don’t totally suck. Yes, I make mistakes but I’m at the point now where I’m not the worst one in the class.

In order to get to that point, though, I first had to get over myself and just try. I had to put that first foot through the door, stand in the back of the class, and learn.  I needed to resolve to go to one class and then another one after that and another one after that. I had to tell myself that I didn’t need to be perfect; I just needed to do it. I had to remind myself that I’d get better the more I did it but I wasn’t going to get any better if I didn’t start somewhere.

But I just needed to start.

Sounds an awful lot like budgeting, doesn’t it?

From my experience, many people are afraid to put together a budget because they don’t know what to do. It’s intimidating to put all of your expenses and income down on paper and figure out where you stand. It’s scary to think about having restrictions on your spending and really looking at any debt you might have. It’s terrifying to think about all your spending weaknesses and budget leaks. Especially when you know that the lack of a budget helped contribute to your money problems in the first place.

You need to put all of that aside. It doesn’t matter that you’ve never had a budget before, just like it didn’t matter that I’d never danced without alcohol as my partner before. You need to take that first step, put pen to paper and work something out. Sure, you might think you won’t be any good at it and that you’re most certainly going to fail and you know what? You might. There is the possibility of overspending or forgetting to include a category, just like when I walked into the first Zumba class, there was the possibility of me falling down or bumping into someone. But that’s okay.

No one has a perfect budget at first. If you keep practicing every month by revising your strategies, pinning down what works, determining what doesn’t, and learning about how to manage on a budget, you’ll get to the point where you have the perfect budget for you. It doesn’t matter if it’s perfect for someone else. It only matters that it works for you.

After working on it for 9 months, I’m a lot more confident in my skills. I know I can walk into pretty much any class—even one with a new instructor—and not look like a total fool. I’ve embraced the “Zumba culture” where I find myself listening to the music outside of the class, wearing brightly colored clothes, and maybe, just maybe, busting a move while I’m cooking dinner or folding laundry. It’s become a huge part of my life and I plan on keeping it around as long as possible.

Same thing with my budget. While establishing the first one was met with a lot of nervousness and trepidation, I’ve been using one for so long that I can’t imagine not having one. Even as our income fluctuates, we still maintain a budget. In fact, not having one makes me edgy and nervous. I need to know where my money is going in order to feel at ease with our checkbook. And while I still not be perfect at budgeting, I’ve come a long way from where I was 6 years ago when we made our first one. And, I assure you, that if you just take that first step and create a budget, you’ll get a lot better, too.

Because, just like with Zumba, it’s not about being perfect. It’s about working with it to establish the best routine for you. And sticking with it over time will only make you better and stronger.