budgeting is that it almost always begins with "we are going to do x, y, and z" followed by "how will we pay for it?" rather than "we have x amount of money and can reasonably and realistically forecast y amount of money in the future, how shall we spend it?" As long as the can kick the can down the road, we will do so because it is always easier to spend money that isn't yours and/or that is borrowed and paid back by someone else.