If you didn’t know by now, I really enjoy talking about money. How to save it, how to make it, and just overall wealth building. At 24 years old, I’ve been able to achieve a 50% savings rate and still enjoy life at the same time. How, you may ask? Well I’m going to show you some steps that have helped me get to where I am today.
I know, I know. Talking about money and being responsible with it isn’t always the “fun” thing to do. You’d rather be watching the game, going on vacations, out clubbing, or doing whatever the kids do nowadays haha. I’m confident that anybody can become financially savvy. Anyone can create the life of their dreams and anyone can build more wealth then they need. That’s not to say it’s easy though.
We live in a society where companies are pushing you to buy, buy, buy and guess what we do? WE BUY! Useless and pointless shit that nobody actually needs and we absolutely know it too. Yet, we keep doing it.
Don’t even deny it either. You’ll be in a store or maybe shopping online and see something you really like and think to yourself “hmm, well I did that one thing and I’m really proud of myself, so I deserve this.” or maybe “well, I’m sure I’d wear it at some point. I mean I’ll wear it at least once then it’ll sit in the closet for the rest of eternity. It’s cute though! and on sale. Yeah let’s get it.” or wait, the best one, “Treat yo self!”
Mhmm, yep. I’m in your head now aren’t I? Thought so.
In no way am I saying that I’m perfect. I definitely buy my fair share of things I don’t need. (You should see my collection of coffee cups). However, I’m the one that’s not in credit card debt and I can pay cash for what I want. I’m not saying that to brag, but to show you that if I, just a regular Joe Shmoe, can take care of my finances and start building some wealth, then you can too.
I want to make it clear that I’m not about to bring you some new crazy idea on how to save money or make more money. There’s no fast way to riches (except the lottery, but the odds are not in your favor). It takes time, work and honestly just small, simple actionable steps that anyone can do, but very few choose to do.
So if you’d like to start figuring out where your money is going every month and start seeing more money in your account, check out some of the things I do personally that have helped me on my journey of financial awesomeness!
- Figure Out What You Really Want – If you’re nervous about looking at your bank account, then you’re in luck, because this step doesn’t even involve thinking about money! Honestly, this is probably the most important step, in my opinion, and the most fun one! You can dream as big as you’d like. Don’t hold back and don’t tell yourself that any ideas are stupid. Maybe one day you would like to be a multimillionaire and have a beach house or travel the world. Or maybe, you’re perfectly comfortable in your current situation and would just like to go on a well-deserved vacation, but aren’t sure how to pay for it. By having a clearer vision of what you’d like, you’ll have a more set in stone goal that you can work towards that’ll make the journey a whole hell of a lot more fun.
- Learn Where You Currently Stand Financially – Okay, maybe I lied above. This step is just as important! (Heck,all of these steps are important or I wouldn’t be writing about them). Knowing where you currently stand financially gives you a starting point. You could be doing far better than you thought or far worse than you thought (let’s hope not!). Maybe you’ve been putting off adding up all of your debts and avoiding your financial unknown. We as humans, are inherently scared of the unknown, but there’s no need to be scared of where you are financially. No matter what stage you’re at you can always make the conscious decision to make your financial situation better. Money is nothing but a tool. A tool that you can use to build that awesome life you were thinking about back in the first step and now is the time to tackle those fears! If you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired then today is the day. Take action and take control of your money instead of letting it control you!
- Track at Least the Next 1-3 Months of Income and Expenses – You’re all pumped now and ready to kick some ass, but let’s just hold on cowboy (or cowgirl). I totally understand! Getting started can be exciting, but it may be a long journey ahead of you depending on where you’re starting from, so let’s save some of that energy for now. Before you really start tackling some debt or try to save some money for that vacation, let’s take some time and start monitoring you spending habits. At this point, don’t change how you live. Just keep doing you boo boo. After at least a month we can get a good feel of the flow of your money. Where you spend it, where you can cut back, and how much you can save and spend on paying down debt.
- Learn the Best Way for You to Keep a Budget/Spending Plan – This step could be added in the one above, but I think it’s important enough to be by itself. I always like to make sure that I mention that while taking control of your money is simple in concept, it’s not always the easiest thing to stick to, especially with all these advertisements all around us and just societal pressure telling us we need more, more, more. However, there’s ways you can make it more enjoyable and easier to stick with. One way is this step! By picking a way to monitor your income and expenses, you’ll have a much higher chance of sticking it out and taking control. Personally, I like to keep a budget with good old pen and paper. I have an entire notebook dedicated just towards my finances. You may not like that though which is totally cool. Try out different methods to see what works best for you. There’s plenty of apps and websites available out there that have been made for the sole purpose of keeping track of money. Some examples are, building a tracker in Excel, You Need A Budget (YNAB), Mint, Personal Capital, and so many more.
- Pay Yourself First – Like it or not, but you actually pay dear old Uncle Sam first in the form of taxes, but that’s besides the point and I’m not here to debate taxes. After taxes though, and I can’t stress this enough, you need to pay yourself first! But what about bills? I know that it may sound crazy at first, but as soon as the money drops into your account, and before you pay any bills, you need to take a designated portion of your money and either put it into your savings, or use it to start paying off debt. This will get you into a habit of being more proactive with your money and thus you’ll pay of your debts faster and save money at a higher rate.
There you have it! These are some of the biggest steps I’ve taken in my life to take control of my money. While I may not be diving into a pool of money each morning like Scrooge McDuck, I’ve taken control of my money and I’m using it to live a life that I’d like to live.
I want you to remember that life is a marathon and not a sprint. You don’t need to be perfect today or tomorrow. You just need to decide if you’re going to be the type of person that has no plan and floats through life or the type of person that takes charge and creates a life worth living!
Remember to have fun with it and that it’s okay to make mistakes! Just get back up and keep on going.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me! Also, if you’d be interested in learning more about what you can do personally when it comes to your money, I’d be more than happy to sit down with you and work on a plan together.
Thank you!