This is part three of our budgeting series, showing you step by step how to take control of your money and get on track for a stress free retirement. If you missed them, links to Part 1 and 2 are below.

Thanks Mike and Helen for allowing me to share how you saved more than $15,000 per annum, using our "9 Pro Tips".  Mike and Helen are super determined to build some new habits now so they can remain living the good life well in to retirement.
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They are showing us all how to get it done!!

Unfortunately, the word budget gets a bad rap.

Some people reckon it makes them look cheap and takes all the fun out of life.

We reckon that could not be further from the truth!
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Here are some budget myths we wish would go away: 

Retirement should be about freedom. But too many Australians are retiring without freeing themselves from the biggest master of all – debt and the Banks they owe money to.

Who does not want to be confident and relaxed about their financial future? To be that way, most of you recognise that you need to be in control, and on top of your money.
 
After all, the future is coming whether you plan for it or not. Will you have the retirement you want, or what happens to you by default?
 
About the most effective thing you can do to get ahead is so basic, I am almost embarrassed to say it – spend less than you earn and do something sensible with the difference.
 
The problem is, so few people do this successfully. Creating and sticking to a budget is not easy.
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We engage in battle every day. Sadly, many of us are losing the fight. It's the war between wants and needs.   
​You don't need a new car but you sure do want one. Those expensive shoes - you've just got to have them. That newest electronic gadget. You really don't need it, you just really want it.

William Bernstein has several good reads, including the one I’ve just finished The Investor’s Manifesto, Preparing for Prosperity, Armageddon and Everything in Between. (yes, I was lured by the title)

For those that haven’t heard of William Bernstein, his status is legendary in financial circles.  There’s a couple of things that I really like about him –

“It can’t be that simple, surely”, is something I hear a lot. 

People just assume that money management is complex. That’s no surprise really, as the traditional financial industry is built on the premise that complexity equals value or to be more pointed, the more complex the solution, the more someone should pay for it. The industry is very willing to sell you this crap. The media don’t help either as eye-grabbing content sells.

A third of marriages end in divorce*. Relationship breakdown is an emotionally difficult time, that can have a significant financial impact as well, This impact can continue well into later life.  For example, households with men and women aged 55–64 years who haven't divorced earn around $10,000 a year more than those households headed by divorcees**of the same age.