Start With What You Actually Have, Not What You Hope to Have
The single most common festival budgeting mistake is planning against expected money, a bonus that has not arrived, a freelance payment that is two weeks late, a relative who might contribute. Plan only against money already in your account. Chanakya wrote in the Arthashastra that a treasury must be counted as it stands, not as it is expected to grow. The principle transfers directly to a household preparing for Diwali expenses: your budget ceiling is your current disposable savings, minus one month of fixed expenses held in reserve.
