I hope your year is off to a great start. Something that I want to remind you of is that no matter what your goals are this year, give yourself some grace.
If you’re starting to budget for the first time, it’ll probably take 3 months to really start getting it right.
If you’re trying to eat right, one missed meal won’t ruin the whole thing.
The important thing to do is to get back up and keep going. If you missed, don’t miss a second time in a row.
You know, I’ve spent a long time really learning all of the ends and outs of personal finance. But the issue is that really knowing what to do and then sticking to it are two different things.
Personal finance is often the habits that we have around money more than the technical know-how.
You could not know anything about sophisticated investing or what you should be doing with your money, yet be great about saving a portion of your income each month.
You could also know everything there is to know about personal finances and still come up short because you over spend.
I’ve certainly been guilty of knowing what to do and not following through.
That’s why the most important skill you may need is telling yourself no.
What are we missing?
Honestly, we live in a pretty abundant world. It’s amazing the riches that we have at our fingertips. Even if you don’t make as much as you’d like, you’re still so much richer than most people on the planet.
I think it’s important to stop and really let it sink in how lucky we are and all of the things we do have to be thankful for.
If you have a job right now and your health, it’s worth taking a moment to stop and appreciate it.
In this world of abundance, it could be good to take a minimalist approach to your possessions and spending.
We just have too much stuff.
Take a hard look at your wants and needs.
I know that in my own budget, for my category that’s listed as household needs, I’m spending a lot on things that are wants.
Sure there are things that you do need, but I know that we often spend more money on upgraded needs. Yes, it’s a need, but we want a nicer version.
Or some of our needs may just not even really be a need at all.
There are legitimate needs that are in your budget, but I wonder if some of those wants that have been passing off as needs might not pass the litmus test.
Make sure you have a plan.
There’s nothing wrong with having nice stuff, but it’s good to keep it all in perspective.
If our goal is to do a better job of telling ourselves no when the time comes, you have to know when that time may be.
That’s why you have to have a plan first, and it needs to be set when your energy is highest. That way, you can decide what’s best for your money.
Then, when the time comes, rely on the decision you already made and commit to saying no when it’s out of the budget.
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