Catch me tomorrow morning on WTHR Weekend Sunrise at 7:45 AM! Here’s a sneak peek of some of the money saving tips I’ll share.
It’s happened to the best of us. We’ve gotten off track, made a financial misstep, had an emergency crop up, or plain messed up with our money. Whether you have a budget or not, whether you were making progress or not, chances are you might new a financial reboot at one point in time. The good news is, there’s always hope even in the darkest of days. We paid off $127K in four years, but there were plenty of starts and stops in our journey. If you’re feeling the need to reset on your current financial situation, here are a few tips to jumpstart the process.
1) Don’t Wait Around. There is NO good time to begin paying off debt. Today is your very best day to begin. If you wait around for some perfect moment, it will NEVER come. There will always be a child that needs braces, a car that needs new brakes, or busy season of your life. Don’t deceive yourself into thinking that next week, next month, or next year is when you’ll begin getting serious about your finances. Because when that day does arrive, you’ll again think that next week, next month, or next year would be better. You have to begin as soon as this segment is over.
2) Get Wise Counsel. You don’t ask the family with wild kids how to parent, you shouldn’t ask just anyone about how to handle finances. Unfortunately, those who are the least capable of managing their resources well are typically the first (and loudest) to volunteer their opinions. Find someone who you know lives well within their means and ask them what they do. Read great books. Our journey started with reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. Perhaps it would be of assistance to you, too. And of course you can always reach out to me and I might be able to give you a few ideas for where to start your debt slaying journey, too. Be very picky about the voices you allow into your life and avoid people who tell you only what you want to hear. Good financial advice typically causes you to push back because it will require sacrifice and make you uncomfortable.
3) Talk to Your Spouse. One of our favorite quotes is “The death of communication is the birth of resentment.” This rings truer in no other area than finances. You cannot expect your spouse or family to read your mind when it comes to your debt slaying, saving, and spending goals. But here’s the key: your conversations must be seasoned with kindness and honest enough to admit where you personally have strayed financially. Own it friends. It takes two to tango no matter how much one of us is at fault. It’s also of extreme importance that you choice the time for your discussion well. DO NOT begin a serious financial conversation in the midst of a fight. You will get absolutely no where and may ruin any potential for the future as well. Power down every single device, send the kids to grandmas, and go to a place that is completely without distraction. Share your hopes in dreams, not your rants and condemnations.
4) Get a Written Plan. It’s one thing to have a dream to fly, but dreaming without a flight plan is useless (also a plane is a good idea, too). So you need to begin to get all of your numbers on paper. If you’re getting back on track, this shouldn’t be difficult. You may just need a little extra umph and a bit of resuscitation. If you’ve never lived on a budget before and honestly the thought of the word makes your brain fuzzy, simple consider what money is coming in and what money is going out (seriously, it’s just that easy – money in, money out). You don’t need a doctoral dissertation, just some numbers on a paper.
5) Take a Deep Breath. Finances often launch us into full on freak out mode. Take a few cleansing breaths, realize that you CAN do this! Then let your money smart fairytale begin!
Today is the best day to begin a path to a better financial you.
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[…] didn’t have enough time to share all of my tips on air so don’t forget to check out the post with all of the details and […]