What in the world am I talking about?
Money.
I am talking about money, money management, budgeting, everything that pertains to money.
As a new single mom, homeless, no job, of COURSE I didn’t have money. But eventually I was able to save for a place to live, got a good paying job, and I still could barely make ends meet.
I was using payday loans like they were my extra bonus paychecks.
The problem was, I made enough money to support all of us.
When I went back to school and obtained my Associate’s degree, I definitely made enough money.
But I was still living paycheck to paycheck.
It turns out that there really is something to having a budget.
First you have to make more than you owe. That’s very important. How do you expect to get ahead if you’re always paying behind you?
Well, I made more than I owed so that wasn’t the problem.
Second you have to spend less than you make. Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. I was spending a lot. I now had money and wanted to use it for whatever I wanted. The funny thing is, I wasn’t spending it on big, fancy items. I was spending it little by little at the gas stations, McDonalds, take out at work, all the little things that come up with the kids- birthday parties, field trips, new shoes, winter coats.
ALL OF IT!
I wasn’t counting any of that in my “budget”. This is why I never had enough money.
So many single moms have told me that they can’t do this or that because they simply don’t have money.
And that may be true for some of you. Right now groceries have gone up exponentially so I can see how that would really affect someone who’s right on the line there with income and spending.
But for the rest of you who look at your income and cannot figure out why you barely make it to your next paycheck, I promise you it’s your budget. Here a few things you can do to get a start on having more money left in the bank.
1. What is your income and how often do you get paid?
2. Write down ALL of your expenses. You might want to break this up into smaller steps. Write down your monthly bills like utilities, rent/mortgage, etc. Then write down those other monthly bills like streaming services, credit cards, loans. Add up all of those monthly “due” amounts and subtract from your total income. You should have extra left over. If you don’t, then you have no choice but to make more income.
3. Now that you see what you have left over, for one week I want you to write down everything you spend money on. Most people don’t like to do this because then they have their decisions in writing, slapping them in the face. But if you want to effectively know where your money is going and how to spend less and have more money, this is important.
4. Make a budget. Now that you’ve tracked all of that extra spending, what are you going to do about it? You don’t have to give it all up but if you want to pay off debt, have a larger savings, go on vacations, you will have to reign it in a little. It’s changing a behavior pattern. It might mean no more McDonald’s breakfast every day on the way to work. Maybe you cut it down to 2 or 3 days instead.
5. Look for the little ways that you can stop spending and start saving.
6. Allocate some of that extra money to paying off other debts like loans or credit cards. The less payments you are making every month, the more you will have.
Start today. Don’t wait until after the Holidays. Making a budget right now can actually help you this season as you will make more conscious decisions on how you spend your money.
You can do this. It’s not impossible.
It just takes some work and determination on reaching your goals.
I believe in you!
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