June Portfolio
Welcome to the new monthly newsletter by Money Clip.
My vision for this newsletter is to provide you with reminders every four weeks that will help you and your family stay financially healthy.
This month I’ve been thinking a lot about debt, and writing ways that people can avoid and pull themselves out of debt.
I’ve also been writing about ways to keep yourself in the clear once you’ve finally pulled yourself out of debt.
Unfortunately, it’s extremely easy to re-enter debt after working for months or even years to become free and clear.
The reasons for this is because of the habits we build for ourselves, habits that don’t go away just because we’ve finally paid off the credit card.
Debt continues to plague us when we don’t change the everyday lifestyle choices that cause us to spend more than we earn.
Because of this, it’s all too easy to exchange credit cards for payday loans when things become too hard. We need to sit down and examine even the tiniest choices we’re making every day that lead to our expenses building up.
Are you drinking coffee from Starbucks instead of making it? I guarantee you can make a better cup of coffee than the teenagers working the machine at Starbucks.
Here’s a tip, leave ground coffee soaking in filtered or mineral water overnight in the fridge overnight for a refreshing cold brew. It’s perfect for summer, and only a fraction of the cost of a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato. (Not to mention a fraction of the calories).
This summer, sit down with a computer or notepad and really evaluate every expense you choose to make every day.
Then take out your sharpest monetary knife and slash every expense that absolutely doesn’t have to be there.
Once you’ve done it, add back the expenses that aren’t necessary, but bring you joy.
Leave out everything useless that was only there because of habit.
Using this method I worked out that I was regularly buying muffins that only sat in my bag all day. Why? Because I bought one once and developed a habit that was wasting $20 a week!
You could be in debt purely from habitual bad choices, and only by sitting down and really taking a hard look at what you’re doing can you finally cut the crap and start the journey that leads to freedom.
“If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.” — Karl Wilson
Below are a couple of my stories that can take you further through the process of escaping debt and writing a budget.
Let this be the summer that you find freedom and happiness by making smarter, and best of all, conscious decisions around your spending habits.
