There is an old song…get your house in order. Do it today…I’m an old soul but old school still works. I’m not a financial expert let me start off by saying that. I have been poor though (which Jay Z says is a state of mind), I have robbed peter to pay paul (not paying one bill to pay another), I have been hungry, I have begged for money, etc. I am in such a better place today but I never forget where I come from so as this recession looms (I called it actually to me it’s already here) I want you to get your finances in order. I want you to learn from my mistakes and hopefully start to make sense of money in a better way. I’m going to talk about how I do my bills, how you can save some money, what bank of America did to my ass when I had nothing, and why I still use paper bills for 80% of my bills.
The audio version is here
Get your finances in order
I am aware this is a gospel song don’t play with me I just wanted to play it cause God has been good.
My mom had a system when I was little. She would write down in a notebook how much her check was for the week and then subtract all the bills that she had to pay with that check. She always wrote it down. That is one lesson I take from her. I write all my bills down not by hand but at least in my notes on my phone or by using my online journal. I pay my bills on a weekly basis. Every Friday I take an hour to go over all of my bills that I have for the week. I go through it like a fine teeth comb. Making sure they don’t charge me extra for anything and making sure I get confirmation that I paid each bill. So every Friday (no I don’t get paid weekly I just like paying my bills once a week) I pay 2 to 3 bills a week. This keeps me in check and I also see what other bills are taking out automatically which brings us to our next point….
As this recession comes make sure you are aware of what is being taken out of your account on a monthly basis. Did you pay for a subscription and forget to cancel? Did you forget to cancel a free trial. Go into your Paypal or your bank account and make sure you are aware of every little bill. $5 bills add up too! Also, I still use paper bills. I don’t know I’m old school and like to lay my bills out on my table rather than looking at them online. I’ts easier to catch things when I have it on paper vs looking at a screen. Weird I know since I read books on my kindle but don’t judge me.
Overcome childhood beliefs. This is a huge one. Remember when I said I didn’t have a credit card? Well, I am letting that go just a little. I now understand how credit cards work and I have bent a little in my way of thinking to never get a credit card. I see how people can use it to fund their business, fund their life (and pay it right off), and use it to get points on free stuff. I still don’t have a credit card ( I can’t bring myself to get one) but I understand it better now and who knows I may get one after all.
Change the words of how you associate money with your life. Stop saying I’m poor (a big one for me) and say I am not where I need to be but I am working towards that. Stop saying must be nice to people and say congratulations I can’t wait to be in a position to afford that.
Keep up with your finances. I check my bank daily to make sure nothing is going on because Bank Of America took my money years ago. I’ll keep the story short. I was poor had like 3.21 cents in the bank. I was waiting on a check to arrive in the bank so I kept checking the account daily. I never checked my account daily like that but when you looking for a check…you look. So the next day I noticed the account was down to 3.11 cents… didn’t think anything of it but then the 3rd day it was down to 2.97 now lookya…something is going on. I called the bank and they claimed they didn’t know what was going on. Backtracked my account myself for the past 6 months and found that they have been taking a few cents out of my account almost daily and I didn’t notice. I canceled my account immediately and never went back.
Here are some other tips to help you get your finances in order
- Keep your bills in one place so you don’t misplace anything or forget to pay something. I keep my bills next to my bed on my dresser in a basket
- Open your bills. Even if they are online don’t just take their word that you owe such and such actually look at your bill
- don’t buy things because of pride or you want to keep up with the joneses. You will go broke
- get rid of old financial documents. I only keep the past 5 years and anything that’s super important I screenshot and put in a folder on dropbox
- Learn how to talk about money with your close friends. You don’t have to tell them all your business but at least have a conversation so you all can be rich together
- Review your budget monthly and have a conversation with your spouse. Sometimes you have one spouse that spends and the other saves. Money is a huge cause of divorce. Also if you are a wife have your own money. I was married and trust me when I say there is freedom in having your own money and income coming in. Even if you put a little something to the side for a rainy day it’s better than depending solely on a man.
- Use an app to help track your money if you need help
- Hire a financial adviser if you need to. They can help you manage your money and make sure you have money for your future. I don’t like the bank being my adviser since they know too much already I prefer an outside person but that’s just me
Have a good money mindset because money is important it allows you the freedom to live the life that you want. Tell folks no when they ask to borrow and if they do want to borrow pay the actual bills for them. If they tell you they need money for gas or food get them a gas card or buy the food for them. Don’t lend money that you don’t have. If you can’t buy it twice you can’t afford it….take that how you want to take it. Get your money mindset together because having that freedom is beautiful. It’s time to get your finances in order.
Any finance tips you want to share? Share them below.
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