Quote Originally Posted by CavSct1983 View Post
Makes sense. I'm kind of in this weird place now where I'm making more than I've ever made, but yet I know I can't approach it like that. I know that if I do enter into "I have plenty of money!" land, I'll very soon have not plenty of money.

I'd like to combine a stricter budget with minimizing, not to simply save for the sake of saving -- that can instill a miserly attitude. But for the sake of saving for harder times, etc. Hopefully, between both minimizing and stricter budgeting, the leaner times would be seen as an adventure in prior planning rather than a nail biter.
Awesome, that's an exciting place to be in life. If approaching things from a preparedness mentality helps you adhere to your plans, go for it. The confidence that it will give you, knowing you can quit that job if you want or hit a speedbump and not be destitute next week or even in several months, is a wonderful feeling.

I don't want to sound like a YNAB evangelist (I know, "too late!") but I really believe in it because like I said it changed my life. Their philosophy is worth checking out even if you don't use their software. Check it out here: https://www.youneedabudget.com/method/

And if you do decide to use their software, in addition to the official YNAB webinars, Reddit is a good resource for learning how other people use it: https://www.reddit.com/r/ynab/