Get Back In Control
Over the past month, how much money have you spent eating out? Probably a lot more than you realized. How much money have you added to your savings account during the same time period? Probably not as much as you would like. If your income was to stop, how long could you pay your bills? If you are like most Americans, less than two weeks. We live in a culture spending is out of control, and instant gratification is expected, where now is more important than later - What do i think will make me happy now. There is nothing wrong with being happy now, but let's be honest - what you think will making you happy now really doesn’t. Instead it is ruining your future and not making your present any better. Are you still satisfied by that $7 cup of coffee that you bought three weeks ago? Money that is not accounted for is money that is wasted, and which cannot be used to work towards your financial goals.
There is hope, you can turn things around!
To control your spending is to control your life. This principle goes deeper than your bank account. Money, and how we spend it, touches every area of your life. Most of us use our time to earn money. Therefore, if you are wasting money, you are really wasting the time that it took to earn the money that you wasted. When you are able to dictate exactly how you spend your money, you are also able to dictate exactly how spend your time. No longer will you be lead to blindly destroy your life without even realizing that you are doing so.
If you are going to turn your financial life around, you must regain control your spending and give purpose to every dollar that flows through your hands. Creating and living on a monthly budget is critical to your financial success. A budget is your plan for what you will do with your money each month. With your budget, you take control over your money, and over your life. You determine who to pay, what to buy, how much to spend, and when. You determine how much to save, how much to blow, how much to spend on clothes, how much to give away, when to pay the mortgage, and if you can afford to go on vacation. When followed, it allows a dedicated space and time for each expense. With a budget, there is no need to worry that by buying clothes that you are spending gas money. There is no need to worry that the husband and wife are at different stores trying to spend the same $50. When a question arises about what to pay, follow the budget, just as a construction worker follows the blueprint.
Call to Action: For the next seven days, keep a detailed record of every time that you spend money. No matter how large or how small, whether it is a candy bar from the vending machine, or your mortgage payment, write it down. Record the amount, the payment source, the payee, and what it was for. At the end of seven days, add everything up. Are you surprised with the results? How does your spending reflect what is important to you?
