5 Ways To Manage Your Money That No One Ever Talks About

Do you want to learn how to manage your money?

First things first…money is a tool and it is just that.

Money is what you make of it. A stapler is meant to staple papers but if you use it only as a desk prop then it loses some of its potential. Change the way you think about money and it will change your life.

Money can be broken down into 2 categories: spending and managing. Spenders do just that, they spend while managers stretch money. When it comes to spending, it doesn’t take much thought to grab that $5 morning coffee on the way to work every day. Managing money means finding a way to leverage that same $5 into something that will benefit you more later. It could be as simple as buying coffee for $2.50 at your local Wal-Mart or Target and making coffee from home each day. You will still have $2.50 in the end to put towards something else that could benefit you in your future. Are you a spender or manager?

Write out your goals.

Finding the solution to your money problems will come only after you identify the problem. Be specific. Why won’t the bank lend you money for a home loan? Why can’t you pay your bills? Write it down. Be honest. Lying to yourself results in the ultimate failure. For far too long, you have lied to yourself. You said last month that you’d put all your extra money towards paying down your credit card. When you got your paycheck, what did you do? You suddenly got money amnesia and forgot what you needed to do next to get ahead. Am I right? Happens to the best of us but if you write it down and check your list every payday, it will keep you on track.

Track your expenses.

Not tracking your expenses will keep your bank account in the red and your debit card will decline. Tracking your expenses should become an everyday thing. Every time your card is swiped, you should automatically log into your online banking and keep up with how much was spent and at what store. In a fantasy world, you can swipe your debit card as much as you want, and it will never decline. You don’t live in a fantasy world, you live the real world. Once all expenses are written out then you should have a clear idea of what is going out. Next, write out your income. You will need it for the next step in the managing your money process.

Create a budget.

You can not create a budget without tracking your expenses. Remember up above when you wrote down all incoming and outgoing funds? Now it is time to create a budget. For starters, make it as simple as unlocking the key to your apartment door. A basic budget will have your income listed at the top and all your expenses listed below. Take your income and subtract every expense. The number left over is how much money you should have left over after paying all your bills. Budgeting made easy, right?

Cut Back on Spending.

If you don’t have any money left over after calculating your expenses, then you are over spending. Thankfully, this can sometimes be an easy fix. If you are who loves to eat out, try cooking at home and taking your lunch to work. Car insurance too high? Shop around for quotes. You will be surprised who offers lower rates with the same options that you have currently. Get creative. There are many ways to cut back on spending. It all depends on how bad you want to have control of your money.

Ready to begin managing your money the right way? Send us your money managing plan at humblehustlefinance@gmail.com