Free yourself, get out of debt, financial freedom and security, are all things we talk about, desire, and NEED!
Tip 1. Write IT DOWN
Without a written plan, you are not holding yourself accountable. When you are not accountable, you will succumb to short-term satisfaction items and sacrifice your dreams.
So, tonight, sit down and write what you want in 6 months, 12 months and 24 months and then work out what you have to do to reach that goal.
For example;
I want $7,000 for a trip to Europe in 12 months.
That means we need to save $134.60 per week!
Ask yourself, what do you have to cut out to save this money? Or what extra work can I take on to earn an additional $134.60 a week?
Now, go and write down your dreams and then break them down into easy to attain milestones and goals.
If you are looking for an accountability partner, we created the MJB Diary for this very reason, check it out here.
Tip 2. DON’T keep up with the Jones’
No matter what your brain says or what the latest advertising by Harvey Norman says… you don’t need the bigger tv. If your car gets you from A to B, you don’t need to buy the latest model.
We are bombarded by millions of images and messages a day that have been carefully crafted to trick your brain into thinking YOU NEED MORE.
You don’t!!! What you need is to learn to handle what you have!
If your work colleague comes in with a brand new trench coat that you would DIE to wear… Remind yourself about your long term goals and then imagine the feeling you will have when you have conquered them!
All unnecessary purchases are just giving you short-term satisfaction.
You will not go to your grave saying, “oh remember that cool trench coat I had, wasn’t it the most amazing moment in my life!”
You will, however, be grateful on your death bed if you have been able to live your dreams, if you have terrific family memories, and if you have lived a life inspired.
Our suggestion
Take the impulse out of shopping
Write down your goals for the year and the next 10 years
Then, when you see something you want, sit down and work out if it helps achieve those goals. If it doesn’t, is it something you truly need, like a new kettle? If it isn’t, DON’T buy it until you have reached your financial goals.
Tip 3. Have a flipping system!
“If you are not running your own system, you are running someone else’s.”
– Emilia (Mills) Tomeo
To save money, you need to know and organise every cent that comes into your life. The media calls it a Zero-Sum Budget, what this means is that you work out your income, analyse your regular bills and then allocate every cent into different savings or bills accounts so that your income account is Zero.
Here at MJB, we agree with the theory of zero-sum budgeting as it organises and takes the emotion out of your finances.
Beyond that, MONEY FLOWS to where it’s organised most!
However, this is not a set and forget system, if you genuinely want to grow your wealth, you need to be prepared and do the work.
If you want to take the emotion out of your finances…
If you want to feel confident and comfortable every pay…
Start implementing a system… Oh and BTW (cough cough) we can highly recommend ours!