This is just my personal take on budgeting in my life, take it or leave it. Results may vary, there are people out there that specialize in this, I do not. That being said, maybe it’s just my internal MOMologue, but I want to help other starving artists eat a little better.
- Dream – Set a goal, any goal. You could want to travel, get spiffy new camera equipment, upgrade your computer, or go into business for yourself. No matter what it is, if it’s important to you, keep that dream in mind. – Mine is paying off my house before retirement age.
- Evaluate your current finances – Where is your money going? I know it’s scary, I hate making eye contact with spending and bills when times are lean. Even though it’s hard, you need to know where your money is going, so you can steer it into your dream. – Fast food and forgotten subscriptions coming out and throwing my account into the negative where regular themes in my bank statement.
- Make a plan – Once you know where your money is leaking, figure out how to plug the leaks. Are you going under because of unforeseen emergencies? Put aside an emergency fund. Spending a ton on take out? Rethink meal prep so there are convenient, cheaper options at home. Unused subscriptions nickle and diming you each month? Cancel them. If you’re paying for convenience, question whether it’s worth delaying reaching your dream. Change how you look at your spending. – I never had an emergency fund and wasn’t sure how to stretch things to get one set up. Once I saw the state of my spending, it became obvious I could contribute a little bit each month and stay on track.
- Follow through – Downsize those areas that aren’t important to your dream and upsize profits. Consider a few options to increase your income, overtime, side gig, or sell unused items, get creative. Reduce spending in areas that aren’t working towards your goals. Then you can start a savings account for the moments that throw you off course so you can stay on track. Add to your savings from all the “found money” until you’ve got a safety net. At this point you may be in a position to tackle that dream purchase, but step back and take a look at the larger picture. Life is expensive, do you want to struggle with the next purchase or do you want to push a bit harder now and have more control long term? – My dream of a paid off home required the longer term strategy, so I kept going.
- Pay off debt – If you reduce the money going out each month, how much more money would you be able to put towards your larger goal without compounding interest holding you back? What would life be like if you could new equipment when you want/need it? Travel when you want? Consider comparatively short term sacrifices to reach a dream life. – This is where I am on my journey, working my way through past missteps in my finances.
- Remind yourself – What’s your “why”. We’re visual people, stick a note in the car, on the computer monitor, or use a chart to track your progress with your goal focused in your mind, it’s much easier to stay on track. – I have notes for myself all over the place with my estimated pay off calculator. I’m racing to beat that projected date for funsies.
- Win – Once you’ve gotten your money under control you can invest in your future happiness. Kick start that dream, invest for retirement, travel the world, and be free to live your best life.
Jittertopia 