Budgeting 101
Budgeting..
It's the fun thing that no one likes to do. It’s the thing that when you do it, you realize how old you have gotten. But it’s the necessary thing to do if you want your money to work for you instead of money working against you. This is what will be your guide to a better budget.
- USE A JOURNAL/EXCEL
This one might be the obvious choice but really if you go through your bank statements and find what goes out of your bank every month and calculate what goes out and separate that into an individual category like your rent going into a housing category for example. Put all that into a journal that you keep that you can look at periodically and adjust if needed or put it all into a spreadsheet.
2. DON’T SPEND MORE THAN YOU MAKE
Again obvious, but so many find themselves drowning and just catching up from month to month because they have bit off more than they can chew. They don’t have enough for next months or next weeks bills because they are still trying to catch up from the last months. Learning basic money fundamentals like budgeting and others can make you more financially sound and in turn can make you more free.
3. SAVE, SAVE, INVEST, INVEST
Now for budgeting after you have paid off the whole town (I mean literally — the whole town) then if you can put aside some money every month to put in either a business budget that you have set aside for a business venture you are looking to start, a side hustle even to bring in some extra cash flow, or INVEST that money and have it work for you while you sleep (I recommend this option). If you are in your early 20s or 30s there are plenty of options out there that work for you like FidelityGo, which I use, and they have bots that buy and trade for you without you having to lift a finger or have any knowledge with the stock market or trading.
Budgeting and understanding money is the key to our financial freedom and while yes every situation is different, we are stronger together if we can share the knowledge and insight into how can collectively take that next step into our lives that will enable us to live much more fulfilling lives and move with purpose and helping our fellow neighbor!
