Mar 18, 2017
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width="345"]
GET
YOU MONEY ON TRACK![/caption]
Money Inventory Basics
It's that time again, Tax season. The first quarter of every
year is when new resolutions are made, and many people get their
tax refund. Tax refund time is the perfect setting to start your
financial makeover. Some years ago, I got fed up with my financial
status. I had a good income but I could not keep any of the money I
made for any length of time. There had to be a reason I
was making a good living but living paycheck to paycheck. Many of
us may find ourselves in the same situation. When you think about
your finances and where your money is going, on the surface things
may seem ok. A closer look at your finances may be in order. I know
you may have heard this all before, but it really is true. Money
and resources must be managed. The time is ripe to knuckle
down and become your own auditor.
Where do I start: Budget -
Money - Inventory
Steps
- Grab a piece of paper ( Not your computer or tablet)
- Think - about every and I mean every dollar you spend.
- write down three columns on the piece of paper. Label them
Bills - Necessary - Unnecessary.
- Write every dime you have spent in the last three months in
bills and spending.
- Separate the items into the three columns.
- List how much money you make per month on the paper.
- Add the total of the columns and play with the
unnecessary from the money you make to see how much you can
save.
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100 dollar bill in the light[/caption]
photo credit: torbakhopper transparency
with ben, scott richard via photopin (license)
What am I doing
Recording where your money has gone is a start and only a start.
The reason for writing down these numbers is to find out how many
bills and spending items are on the table. The next action
putting items in categories gives you and indication where
your money is going while placing priority on those funds.
I did it you can too!
Listing out where my money was going was a sobering act. I started
to find my bank account had a trickle in the form of $20 to $100
expenses that were a pure luxury and very unnecessary. Little
money vacuums such as subscriptions, dues for things I really did
not use and other money ripping items. those were the bills listed
in the unnecessary.
Hardcore
Once I had a visual on expenditure, it was easy to see I could get
my money in control. It became a game to see how much I could
save. When I had a bill that I could not pay off immediately,
I developed a time plan by attacking the smallest, then rolling the
payments of the paid off debt to the next item on the list. My
family thought I was nuts, as they had not had a money mindset
change as I had. Actually, my divorce came some time later(go
figure). It was imminent anyway. I went nuts, I called
credit card companies, closed accounts, got rid of cable
channels, started taking car of my own lawn and snow. I was a mad
man. I want to touch on something I may have breezed over. The
reason for the 3 moths of bills was to get a good average of items
that many not occur every month. Those surprise non-monthly
bills can hit you in the face. If you don't take an average over
time of your spending habits, that sudden expense could derail your
efforts.
24 Months - The Outcome Over Time
Failure to reach a goal is typically due to unrealistic
expectations. 24 months is a good timeframe to make great changes
in your life. As you rid yourself of the unnecessary cost in your
life, freedom will show up. The goal is to run for the duration and
not sprint to the finish line. This is a lifestyle to make living
better and more manageable. Freedom of choice will become more
dominant as you free up money to be used or invested. The task I
have placed before you is really easy. Start with one item per
month then use the snowball moeny management method to get your
finances in order. Next time I will show you some free tools to
help you budget. Now go live the Billionaire Lifestyle.
Peace Out Emmitt