A national debt is an expected outcome of a deficit budget. A deficit budget is when a government's spending exceeds its revenue in a given fiscal year, resulting in a budget deficit. To cover the shortfall, the government will need to borrow money, usually by issuing government bonds, which contributes to the national debt. Therefore, when a government consistently runs a deficit budget, the national debt continues to grow. In contrast, a consolidation budget, balanced budget, or surplus budget means that the government's spending is within its revenue, and there is no need to borrow, thus avoiding adding to the national debt.