Home Money Management: How to thrive and not die trying

There are some truths in our world which are undeniable: time only moves forward, mobile phones makes us slaves, banks never lose, and we have always tried to do a home budget and fail in the attempt.

This last part is the one intriguing the most, as we may think it is a simple and almost mandatory task in every household. Truth is, families fail almost every time to do a good budget and sticking to it, giving up along the way. The thing is, giving up in this simple but necessary task is the major reason why so many households around the globe experience depth debt and fail to thrive in life (obtain everything they dream of).

You would be asking yourself at this point of the reading: What the hell does this have to do with Sharing Economy?

Well my friend, I must tell you… a lot.

Sharing Economy is the mechanism to get you those extra bucks you need for something. Having that “something” very clear in your mind, and making it enough reason to put an extra effort doing the gigs, is what matters. We jump into this #newconomy thinking we can make money on it. Absolutely true. That’s the whole point. But, what do we want to make money for? That is the first and only question to answer. Most of the time, this is directly related to the fact that you need a supplement to your household budget in any way (little extra for holidays, little extra to pay off the house loan, little extra for college savings, etc)

There you go my friend: joining the Sharing Economy marketplaces is a direct consequence of home budgeting.

As in anything, having a clear objective when beginning any enterprise is key for success. It is no different when referring to home budgeting.

Apart from the obvious goal of getting the money matters straight and controlled, home budgeting can carry “sub-objectives”, like saving for college or holidays, where do we get money for a new car, or simply plan an steady increase in earnings to allow for somehow early retirement.

Determining the objectives is step one. After, it is required to state and action plan. Again, as in any job, getting to the end line depends deeply on how things are carried out. Streaming a plan gives us the sense of control over the activity we want to do. Tells us step by step what we need to do. A home budgeting action plan is determined by the household economical situation: Evaluating how currently screwed we are (feelings wrecker, I give you that), and then start scrapping here and there to see how to “save money for”. Pay special attention to this: “save money for” is automatically assumed as the first thought of scarcity that hit us when home budgeting. It is a desperate call to amend months (if not years) of disorganised house management. Not to blame anyone. Not looking at anybody. We all do behave the same, at least at some point during our adult life.

First tip of financial success: Remove scarcity thoughts. Don’t think how to save. Think out to earn more.

Thinking scarcity will only reinforce the desperate feeling and keep us awake at night. Part of the plan shouldn’t be how to “save for”, but “how to make money for”. You’ll be surprised how many ways you may find to make that money come to you. For already known reasons, please do check #SharingEconomy solutions that you could apply to your particular situation (sell stuff in EBay, do some Uber in free time or tasks in AirTasker, rent a room in Airbnb, and sooooo many more).

Here comes the hardest part: Once plan is set, now we need to stick to it. I won’t lie mates. It requires mental stamina. As anything, the hardest part is actually doing the things (don’t even get me start on diets…). It is an effort done day by day. Little by little. I promise, you’ll get used to it, and actually really good at it. Do not be afraid of seeking peer support! Not only within the family, but from so many more people trying to do the same. People are around to help and collaborate: As #SharingEconomy is about trust, you can also trust people outside your circle to help with issues affecting a common group. The key in all this journey is motivation. Keep motivation on the high note, and you’ll make it to the end of the month stuck to your home budget with flying colours.

After the first few months, it actually becomes a circle of production: Home budgeting dictates what to do to get more money -> you achieve your objective -> more money is in the table -> can reinvest the money in the activities that are going to give you even more money.

It turns out for the best.

In order to keep this cycle flowing, we need to be organised. As in any business (as a household actually is), being organised with your data is key to analysed it and improve performance. That isn´t a secret to nobody. Being organised allows to measure and improve. How are you going to know, let´s say in 3 or 4 months time, if you plan objectives are accomplished, if you don´t keep track of it? That is the other key word in all this diatribe: keep track, keep records, record performance, record activities. Make it measurable.

Don´t get me wrong: Am not trying to tell you 100% that what you may hate the most (work dynamics where you are immerse 8 hours of your day, “wasting” time you could be using for something else) is what you need to do at home. when you get tired after that work… arggggghhhhhh. No. All am saying is getting the things you want demand a degree of commitment. Just be organised and evaluate your household money situation. It doesn´t need to be hard or daunting. It just need to be sizeable to your current situation and where you want to be next. You comfortable point…. phewwww!!.

Set and objective for your extra income. Assess your current situation, and… get organised. Track your activity. track your extra income. It isn´t really hard. Just take an extra bit, to get where you want to be. To accomplished those objective set in your plan: Order and little effort will make you free!