I have a brand new car. Well, to be exact, I purchased a 2009 model in 2010. Compared to the clunker I had before, this vehicle is brand new to me.

Every 5,000-km, I take it in for a free oil change. Of course, I pay for the labour. And of course, there is sometimes additional work that needs to be done.

The last time I was at the dealership, I was told that I needed to do $500 worth of work over and above the oil change. It was unexpected, so I did half the work for $250 with a promise to return in 3-weeks to do the other half of the work.

I didn’t like the surprise. It left me in a state of discomfort and worry. I promised myself that should this happen again, I’d stick to my budget boundary.

With a budget of $300, I returned to the dealership 3-weeks later. I went in, was told what needed to be done, then signed the work order. With taxes, it worked out to be a hair over $300. Since the vehicle wouldn’t be ready for a few hours, I was dropped off at home and got started with my day.

About 30-minutes later, the dealership calls.

“Ms Hall, we need to do a tune-up. One has never been done on the vehicle before,” says the lady on the phone.

“Oh, that’s odd. Well, is that included?”

“No. It’ll be $175 bringing your new total to $475.”

“I did not budget for that.”

“It has to be done,” said the lady from the dealership. She was polite, but firm.

“Okay, well, remove a less critical task from the work order I signed so you can add the tune-up,” I responded.

“All the work needs to be done.”

So, I got firm: “I have $300 budgeted, so I’ll give you a choice. Either you make it work so I get everything on the work order, plus the tune-up for $300 or you take away something so the total still rings up to $300. Let me know what works.”

We went back and forth for a few more times. The lady from dealership trying to convince me that I needed the additional work done, me sticking to my budget of $300.

In the end, I paid for what I signed on the work order.

$300. Mind you, I still need to get the tune-up done. So that means I’ll have to spend a few hours in a few weeks to get this work done. But I’m proud that I respected my boundaries and stuck to the budget.

When someone tells you how to spend your money, it creates drama.

It’s vitally important that you stick to your boundaries when it comes to money. Whenever someone tries to rush you into a buying decision or uses fear to get you to take leave of your funds, it creates a space where worry, doubt and guilt lives.

What say you?

Can you remember a situation where you wished you stuck to your budget? Is there a situation you’re proud of when you did stick to your budget? Share below.