I received a spam email last week. Please read the first two sentences.
Do you find yourself with unused budget dollars, but you are running out of year? Freedonia has a couple of offerings which help you get the best value for your 2007 budget dollars.
Great idea. You didn’t spend all the money that your budget said you could. Party time. Spend it on something you don’t really need. Why not? Otherwise you lose it? This brought back bad memories.
Early in my career, I was with Ameritech (a RBOC which is now part of AT&T). Specifically I was with Ameritech Development, their corp dev arm. Sure enough, it was near year end in about 1990 and the senior management of Ameritech Development was giddy. “Order up whatever research reports you think you might want,” we were told, “we have surplus money in our expense budget. If we don’t use it, we lose it.” This came from 5th and 6th level management–for those who know the Bell system, this was very senior in the ranks. “Worse,” they explained, “if we don’t use our entire budget, our budget will be reduced next year.” They made it sound so horrible.
It seemed odd at the time–that is why I have a vivid memory of it. Money was spent only because there was extra money in the budget. I chalked it up to the monopoly and rate-of-return regulation roots of its heritage. I learned later that even competitive companies assume this mentality at times. The spam email I received confirms this mentality still exists.
So say me: If you have unused budget, DON’T SPEND IT. Instead, high-five your closest co-worker and send a note to finance letting them know they can shave a little off the budget for next year.
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