With the new year quickly approaching, on this #FundMeFriday I want to give you just two things to do that if followed, will set you up with a very comfortable financial start to the new year.
The first thing that you must do is write everything down. It does not have to be actual pen to paper but if it is not, you must get into the habit of posting it into your computer. You can use an excel worksheet or even Google worksheet but get every single penny written down starting the first of the month. Make sure you get a receipt for everything and if you cannot carry all your receipts, take pictures of them. In your worksheet make categories like food, utilities, rent, dining out, entertainment etc then, keep a running track of every dime that leaves your pocket. So what good is all this tracking for? Well, that brings me to my second step.
The second step is to analyze every expense, at a minimum, on a monthly basis. Usually when people see where their money is being spent, they are almost always shocked. When you spend $2 in one place and $1.75 in another then maybe $5.50 for lunch and none of this was tracked, you get the false assumption that you spend very little. However, when you track and in the same scenario of spending, at the end of each month, you see all that you have spent, most people learn the hard way that they have spent hundreds of unnecessary money and the shock sets in.
So, what do you once you have tracked all you expenditures and analyzed them? Well, you start to realize that rather than spend $8 per day on Starbucks or $16 on a chicken salad for lunch a few times per week, you can cut things out, not completely, just by half maybe then with this adjustment, you can take that extra money, money I guarantee is $100 at a minimum, and you take that money and stick it into your savings on a monthly basis. Adjustments can be something like bringing your lunch into work every other day rather than buying lunch. Skip the $8 Starbucks everyday and just get it every other day. Do not buy three magazines, just buy one. Skip the newspaper subscription and read the news online. Color your own hair every other time you are scheduled for a re-fresh. Get your nails done every three weeks instead of every two weeks. Eventually everything adds up.
You will be surprised by the amount of control you will have over your money once you begin tracking and then analyzing so start fresh with the upcoming new year and watch how your financial situation begins to change. It is in your hands and it begins with receipt number one.
By the way, did you pay yourself today? I really hope you have gotten into this habit by now and if you are new to Lori’s Loop, please go and look back through previous #FundMeFriday posts to see what this challenge of paying yourself first is all about.
As usual, we have to keep you learning and thriving so today’s book recommendation is a book I have suggested before and it is extremely fitting for today’s blog post. The book is called Crushing it. If you have not already read it, please get a copy from your local library or try and borrow it from a friend. If neither option is available, here is a link to get your own copy from Amazon>> https://amzn.to/2OHJCFg
If you choose to shop in Amazon, I would greatly appreciate it if you could use the link I have provided. As an Amazon Affiliate, it is possible I can earn a bonus and therefore continue to provide continued content we all enjoy. Thank you in advance!
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