Your Money Or Your Life

Take Care Of Your Money So Your Money Can Take Care Of You

Before I became serious about my finances, I was living paycheck to paycheck. I always have been very motivated to work for the things I want in life. But then it dawned on me that with all the hard work I was doing, I really had nothing to show for it. Yes, I had the latest fashion, nice cars and traveled, but I had next to no money in the bank. My credit cars carried high balances and I became stressed out about making ends meet. There always seemed to be more month than there was money. So I decided to get serious about taking care of my money.

If you are like I was, then the first thing you have to do is to commit to taking care of your money so that in the future your money can take care of you. You have to commit, tell yourself the reasons why you are taking care of your money. You have to be ready to spend your money on only the things you NEED then and only then will you be on your way to financial freedom. I'm warning you, this is not for everyone. These steps are only for people who are willing to sacrifice now so that later you will have money in the bank and no longer live paycheck to paycheck.

Budget:
Gather all your bills. Mortgage, telephone(s), insurance, gas, light, car payment, bills in collections, etc. Write down every bill in a journal and the minimum amount due each month. If you owe more than you make, you are living above your means and you NEED to get rid of some of the things you pay monthly. The first bill I got rid of was my cable because it was costing me $77 a month. Remember, when considering what bills to cut out that it is just temporary. When you can afford them you can add them back.

Make Your Monthly Payments:
For me, this step was easy because I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. In stead of eating at my favorite restaurant or going to the movies I payed my bills. I had to stop getting my beloved manicures and pedicures at the local nail salon and started doing them myself. For a whole summer I stayed away from the mall and no, ladies, this wasn't that hard because my closet was already filled with things I bought when I was being financially clumsy.

Be Wise About Where Your Money is Going:
Take a look at your bills and think how can you make them lower each month. For example, compare your insurance rates with other companies. A lot of times your insurance company will match a lower rate to keep you as a customer. To save on your premium get a higher deductible. My car insurance deductible was $500. I never got into one accident, so I changed it to $1, 000 and over a six-month period I'm saving $256. Take off the features you can live without on you cable bill such as the DVR service, HBO, Showtime, etc. Or just get rid of it for a period of time like I did. The same thing for your wireless bill. I used to use my credit cards with the thought that I'm building my credit and I'm going to pay it off. Needless to say the balances kept growing because I was only making the minimum $15-$20 payments... So I cut them up and put the balances in my budget and paid them off. The real trick to using credit wisely is to use only 10 percent of the limit and pay it off before the due date. So if you have a $200 limit, only spend $20 and pay it off before it's due. That way the credit card company can report to the credit agencies and your credit can remain in a positive state.

Reap The Benefits:
All the extra money you have after you pay your bills save it. 10 percent of what you make should automatically go into a savings account, one that you aren't allowed to touch. The other money should be saved until you have enough to invest. I have invested my money into a mutual account and a vending machine route. With both of my investments and I'm able to make my money work for me. If you are truly ready to be financially free start right now.

Take Care Of Your Money So Your Money Can Take Care Of You