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I don't budget because it's extra work for no benefit, but hardly anyone has the aversion to spending I do, so it doesn't work for most people.
My rule of thumb is to spend the least I can on a rapidly depreciating asset that accomplishes the task I need it to. I splurged 13 years ago and spent $17k on the Acura I still have. I financed it because the interest rate was something like 2%. So long as the interest rate is well below my expected rate of return on investments, there's no problem financing. The real reason I financed is that I was simultaneously purchasing a house, and had my mom "buy" the car so it didn't appear as a liability for the purposes of getting a mortgage approval. I wanted the largest mortgage I could get approved for because I wanted to purchase the biggest house... because I wanted more rooms available to rent out.
Dave Ramsey is good to follow if you're like most people who enjoy spending and are prone to getting into debt trouble.
The only debt I've ever had that exceeds the cash I have in the bank to cover is mortgages.
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