Recently, I admitted that I’m not a fan of traditional budgets. They just don’t work for me because I lack the discipline and consistency, and I get overwhelmed by all the categories and numbers. However, I still need to manage my finances, maintain a healthy level of savings, and make sure all my bills are paid. So, here’s a solution for those who are averse to budgeting.

CREATE A REVERSE BUDGET.

Traditional budgets consider your income and expenses. You typically set aside specific amounts for food, mortgage, phone bills, and so on. You also budget for savings in various categories like college funds, retirement accounts, or holiday savings.

But then, you might find yourself stressing because you went over budget for something minor like razor blades by $0.30. You’d readjust, buy more blades, and then leave that expense at $0 for the next six months to balance things out.

I do things differently. I let the money come in, usually at the beginning of the month. This includes my regular earnings and rent from my tenants. I have a rough idea of how much I’ll receive and have several automated payments set up to take care of most expenses right away.

First, I pay my bills. Then, based on my financial goals, I move money into various investments. Whatever is left in my account is what I have to get through the month. How do I know it’ll be enough? It comes down to practice. Right now, I aim to spend around $1,000 per month. Any balance above that amount goes into investments, like house improvements.

What about unexpected expenses? Life happens, and you can’t always predict it. Unexpected repairs, emergency travel, or medical bills might crop up. I would charge those to my credit card and adjust my spending the following month to pay off the balance. If that’s not enough, I dip into a liquid savings account. For higher-risk, higher-reward investments, like my cattle investment, I might consider paying the credit card interest because the investment could bring in more money. Sometimes, the interest on the card is steep, but it could cost more to take money out of an investment prematurely.

MAKE A PLAN FOR EXTRA MONEY.

Occasionally, I get extra money. This year, I made quite a bit from selling my Paris apartment, concluding another investment, and earning extra income from online work.

My plan for extra money is straightforward: amounts between $300 and $500 go back into my main account as discretionary income for the coming months. This lets me indulge in something I’ve wanted, buy a plane ticket, or upgrade my computer.

For larger sums, I try to allocate the money quickly. It’s too easy to spend money that just sits there. When I saw $60K from the apartment sale in my online account, I repaid my mom for a loan, wired some money to my partner, and paid off a 7% loan—all in three transactions. Just like that, the money was gone.

Any extra money beyond that $500 threshold is invested. I review my financial goals every quarter to decide where to focus my investments. Having a general amount for monthly expenses lets me not stress about small unexpected costs and view my finances as a whole. I can’t manage 25 separate sub-accounts for things like car repairs or toothpaste. For me, all my money is part of my net worth. As long as my net worth is increasing, I’ll keep budgeting without following a strict budget.

What about you? Do you need a strict budget to manage your finances?