How to Manage Your Money Well
It’s pretty clear to everyone right now, that the economy is getting tighter and tighter, forcing us to readjust our lifestyles and even cut things out completely. Here’s how I manage my money in order to sustain my lifestyle, while also working towards an up level.
I am a waitress/ entrepreneur and I pay everything in my life all on my own. So it’s very important that I manage my money very well or I could face the devastating reality of not having money for my basic necessities.
First and foremost I am aware of the number that defines my baseline necessities, this includes, rent, utilities, water, food, debt and my monthly subscriptions. This number is non-negotiable to meet every month before I splurge or spend on anything for fun.
Having an awareness around how much money you need every month will give you the information you need to decide if you need to work more or even get a second job.
When I was younger I had no awareness around my personal income and budgeting to meet my needs, I would just spend and when it the time came that I needed extra money I would act in desperate and stressful ways to rush myself into making extra money or even having to ask for help (and I really don’t like to do that).
In my later 20s when I came to a point of paying all my bills alone the reality really set in that I needed to figure this money thing out. I started to look at where I was spending my money. I did this by physically documenting my income and my spending, seeing the difference in numbers physically really helped me to see where I could cut back and make changes. I still do this everyday.
For example, I cancelled my YouTube premium and just decided I would watch the ads instead. Another area I made a change was with food, my health came to a point where it was declining due to eating high sugar and highly processed foods. I decided to invest my time into cooking whole food meals and I also found it to be much cheaper than constantly buying my favorite vegan tenders. This was a celebration for my financial and physical health. As I started to really enjoy the process of cutting back I learned to embrace removing things from my life that I really didn’t need, and was mindlessly investing my money into.
Another shift I made from my early to late twenties was the realization that I needed to work more. I was in quite the lazy phase of my life in my early 20s and I just wanted my peaceful, rich life then and there, but the truth was, I didn’t have the financial stability to be lounging around all day working 3 shifts a week. After many years of fighting this, I made the choice to work more. Working more shifts had allowed me to maintain my lifestyle, and have some extra money when I want to buy something, support a loved one, or invest into something expensive. It’s not an easy shift to make, but financially it has given me more gains. It has also helped me with the rise of the economic prices and even increases in my rent.
The biggest point I’m trying to convey to you, is that you have the power to take control of your financial situation and to make changes.