There was a show on television in the 1950s called “This Is Your Life.” In black and white, celebrities would be lured into a classic Burbank, California NBC studio and surprised with delightful accounts of their lives. People would share stories, photos, and videos and the darling subject would be swept off their feet with flattery and nostalgia.

What if budgeting felt like flattery and nostalgia? When host Ralph Edwards, with his mid-century idiolect, calls out the celebrity’s childhood piano teacher, the live audience cheers and the guest is speechless. This is not how most of us feel when we sit down to get real about our numbers.

Are you speechless when you reflect on the things that make up your beautiful life? The reality is that your expenses are the content of your perfect existence. Treat them as such. When you go through your budget, how do you feel about that ski pass? That expensive dinner out with friends? Summer camp for your kid? In the context of “budgeting,” these items can feel awful and convince you you’re doing something wrong.

But if Ralph Edwards presented them to you as part of the splendor of the one unique and magical life that you get to live, you might feel differently.

I am wholeheartedly convinced that our society has approached money and budgeting all wrong. What if you were raised to, each week, sit with your family and go through expenses with a reverent attitude? What if letting go of money was as nourishing as receiving it? I believe we’d treat our expenses differently. And we’d be better stewards of it. When you appreciate something, you treat it with respect. Impulse shopping isn’t as rewarding when you have an intimate and normalized relationship with your money.

So next time you think about budgeting and get queasy, try this:

  1. Name it something other than budget. “This Is Your Life,” perhaps?

  2. Underneath that, write: “I live a miraculous and unique life.”

  3. Document all your recurring transactions over the course of a year.

  4. Pour yourself a glass of something fizzy and get all weepy as you do this! What a beautiful life.

  5. Don’t forget things that happen annually, like paying a tax preparer, that annual credit card fee, or holiday gifts.

  6. Highlight the things that bring you the most joy and spend a moment relishing in them.

  7. This list is a budget of sorts. But it can be treated like an anthem of awesomeness.

  8. Categorize things by “Needs,” “Wealth/Savings” and “Wants.” Sum up the total of “Needs” and multiply by four. This will give you an amount to have saved for a rainy day, aka Emergency Fund.

  9. Celebrate! You live an incredible life! 

10. Subtract your expenses from your income. If this number is positive, put the extra toward your next financial goal. Huzzah.

11. If you’re not living within your means, use this document to turn the dials until you find a solution that works for you.

It’s not worth the drama we inject into the process. At least, not the negative drama. Throw some cat-eye glasses on, drop some balloons from a net, queue up the cheer squad and feel like the celebrity you are. What a joy that we can buy peanut butter pretzels, drive to Moab, wear steezy kicks and give our children art supplies. Do it with pride because… this is your life.

Megan Janssen is a certified financial educator and founder of Money Juice. To join the April 16 workshop in Carbondale, “Money Management for Creatives,” visit www.money-juice.com