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The Vital Importance of Budgets in Personal and Public Economy

An analysis of financial management, from family experience to national politics, highlighting the need for planning.

Image of an old accounting book with financial entries and a pen.
IA

Image of an old accounting book with financial entries and a pen.

Financial management, both at the domestic and state level, relies on budgetary planning. From family lessons to national politics, the absence of clear budgets creates uncertainty and risks.

The necessity of sound economic management, even for daily expenses, has become evident. Distinguishing between needs and wants, along with regular budget creation, are fundamental pillars for a healthy household economy. This lesson, learned through personal and family experience, underscores the importance of prioritizing savings and fixed expenses, such as utilities or phone bills, over unforeseen costs or desires.
The character of Wilkins Micawber, from Charles Dickens's novel David Copperfield, perfectly illustrates the maxim that annual income exceeding annual expenditure leads to happiness, while the opposite results in misery. Budgetary discipline, even if the exact figures were unknown to the children, aligned the family towards common goals and reduced monetary conflicts. Nowadays, digital tools like spreadsheets greatly facilitate this task of control and monitoring.
In the professional sphere, the establishment of Budget Management departments became widespread in the late eighties, initially within financial institutions and later extending to most medium and large companies. Concurrently, the Budget Law has always been considered the fundamental annual norm for a country's economy, as taught by Don Alfonso Pérez Moreno, Professor of Economic Administrative Law at the University of Seville.
However, the current situation in Spanish democracy is unprecedented: three years into the legislature, no budgets have been presented, nor is there any indication they will be approved for 2027. The excuse of economic growth and job creation does not justify the diversion of public funds, such as using European funds for pension payments, a practice that has already led to legal challenges. Shifting priorities, like increasing defense spending or reducing tax pressure, must be done in a regulated manner, not through extensions or improvised adjustments.
Managing any economy without clear budgets not only hinders transparency and efficiency but also carries the risk of unpleasant financial surprises, both on a personal level and for the state as a whole.

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