STICK TO A BUDGET
Money is stressful. It’s stressful to have, not to have, to manage, to save, to spend, to earn, yet for some weird reason, it’s what many of us think makes us happy.
To make money at least slightly less stressful, it’s good to know how to spend and save it wisely. I am in no way a financial advisor, and I’m not offering any specifics here, just the simple habit of creating a budget around your life and reminding you to stick to it.
A budget is essentially a diet for your money. You choose which calories/dollars are worth eating/spending and which aren’t. You already know you should cut back on sugar so it’s easier to understand why you might want to cut back on adding more fidget spinners to your collection.
Creating a budget is easy.
1. Look at your purchases for the last few months. Highlight which ones you can’t (or won’t) live without.
2. Add those up and subtract them from how much money you made during that time frame. If you make more than you spend, bravo, you’re on track.
If you spend more than you make, you’re in trouble and it’s time to make some adjustments. Look for anything you bought that in hindsight, you maybe didn’t need as much as you thought. Those are the expenses you’ll want to avoid in the future.
You have to create your budget (or have a qualified person help you), but what I want to stress is the habit of sticking to whatever budget you make. Just like a diet, if you eat or buy things you’re not supposed to, there are consequences. However, with food, it might be an extra pound or two, whereas with money, it could mean uncomfortable debt or changes in your lifestyle. The big difference is that most diets are temporary while budgets last much longer.
Make a budget, stick to it, and you’ll feel much better about your bank account no matter how much is in it.
