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My thoughts about things. |
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Blog Harbor - Prompt #2 (January 2025) ▼  PLEASE NOTE. I am not a financial advisor and do not claim to be one. The following ideas/thoughts are based upon my life experience, which I understand can be vastly different from anyone else. These tidbits of advice are only meant as suggestions for possible options to help wrangle anyone's finances. Use what you can, leave what you don't want, and find your own path to hopefully less stress! Wise tips on spending and saving can benefit everyone. From those who need to be frugal to make the paychecks stretch to those who have an abundance at the end of the month, good spending and saving habits are crucial to keep the money where it needs to be and hopefully grow it for the future. As a child, my family struggled at times to make the dollars stretch. Mom and dad always made sure we were healthy and fed. God bless them for their sacrifices so that us kids could enjoy our childhood and grow up valuing more than just material things. As an adult, my family has had times where I had to divvy the money up between just enough groceries and gas to get us through to the next paycheck. The stress has ebbed and flowed over the years as the needs of our children, and the family as a whole, have changed. My husband and I have made it a point to talk to our kids about finances and hopefully give them a good foundation of knowledge. I think it is important for parents to do this for their children. Not everyone gets that information passed down to them. Or worse, they get bad examples and horrible advice on how to handle finances. No matter your past circumstances and knowledge, it is never too late to start learning and establishing good financial habits. Spending and Savings  Know how much money you have to work with each month. (Total household income.) Create an organized list of your weekly/monthly/annual expenses. Organize it in a way that makes sense to YOU. (A budget.) Your expenses list should include:  Frequency of payment (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually) Due date for payment and how often (Monday each week, 15th of the month, December each year) Overall total due that is periodically updated (if this is a credit card balance, medical debt, or a loan.) Keep a running ledger of your bills and payments. (If electronic, password protection is essential. If hard copy, put it in a safe place. The best thing is to keep a copy of each in some form and regularly update them.) Record the payment confirmation numbers with each payment you make and/or print a receipt of payment. (Hard copy or digital.) If you pay off a loan or credit card, make a distinction that you did. (PIF - paid in full) As you pay off a balance, take that payment amount and add it to the payment for another balance. Part of your expenses (budget) should include funds that you contribute to each week/month: Retirement fund An emergency fund An items/services needed fund An items/services wanted fundThe goal is to:  Stay organized Be persistent Be reasonable and flexible Keep on top of things to reduce stressThis is an order of expenses that can be used to ensure you maintain a healthy lifestyle: 1. Rent/Mortgage 2. Car payment and gas money or bus fare (transportation expenses) 3. Utilities 4. Medicine (if any is needed regularly) 5. Food 6. Savings funds (Retirement, emergency, needed, wanted) 7. Entertainment (Short term and long term) When you get your paycheck, you allocate your money in this order. If something isn't working, you have to adjust some of these items to make it work. Any amount of money put in a savings fund counts! Even if it is only a dollar each week, that's more than zero! You can always increase it in the future. SAVE FOR RETIREMENT. Let me repeat that... SAVE FOR RETIREMENT. From your very first job, start saving for retirement. Even if it is a lemonade stand, babysitting, or delivering newspapers (oh, wait, do they still have those?  )Remember that putting money towards retirement is paying YOU. It is ensuring that one day you can kick back and hopefully relax! Who better to benefit from your years of work than yourself??  Break your fun money down into two categories: instant and long term. The key is to try and find balance. Plan ahead and have little and big events on the horizon. Do something little each day/week/month. Do the big stuff once or twice a year. Be flexible. If you have to pull money from one account to cover something, then just buckle down and start building it up again. That's why it's there! Don't beat yourself up over accidents or mistakes. If everyone is healthy and safe at the end of the day, then you did a good job.  Be reasonable! Yes, I know that television that is as big as the side of your house looks awesome! But do you really need it RIGHT NOW? Work out how much to put away each week/month and have a date in the future to get it... you never know, it will probably be cheaper and maybe on sale! Be persistent. Make it a ritual to sit down with your choice of beverage and/or snack and get the bills done. Period. It reduces stress to know where your money is and how it is being used. The last thing I will say for everyone is this: believe in yourself! If you aren't where you want to be in life right now, then start making plans that will get you there. There's no time like the present! I truly believe that the most important and best things in life don't cost money: family, friends, laughter, love, sunshine and snow to name a few. BUT life does inherently cost money. So, figure out what kind of life you want and then go after a career that will support it! Best of luck to everyone in the realm of spending and savings! If it happens, know that you are not alone in your stress and frustration. And that you have absolutely got this. |
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