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What would you do, if you won the lotto?
I bet you have thought about this a lot. I know I have, answering this question for me is easy: buy more real estate and buy a vacation spot on the beach.
Okay this next question may be a little bit harder for you to answer. What would you do if you had an extra $100 a month? What about $1,000? I bet no one has ever asked you that before and I am sure that this amount, although not $1 million, will still positively impact your life.
It would for me too. I could think of quite a few things to do with $1,000 dollars. And I can think of even more to do with $12,000 ($1,000 x 12 months = $12,000).
What if I told you that you could save an additional $1,000 a month just by budgeting? Would you believe me?
Nay Sayers, Warren Buffett, and recent lotto winners be warned this blog post is not for you.
Budgeting and tracking your spending is the number one way that you could save additional money every month. But you could have told me that, couldn't you? Okay great, so why aren't you doing it already?
Take this article as the gentle nudge in the you know what to get started budgeting.
Step 1:
Read this article: The 5 Steps You Need to Take to Save Half Your Salary Every Month
Step 2:
Get a Budgeting App. I have used Personal Capital before and it is a free, one stop shop for all things budgeting, tracking your expenses and credit card accounts, your 401K, investment funds, monthly bills like car payments or mortgage payments, savings accounts, net worth and more. I love it because it allows me to see all of my accounts in one place. It also calculates your Net Worth and you know from my previous article how important tracking that is!
Another option is Mint which you can manage on your phone. I am not a huge fan of Mint because I found it too time consuming but it is great if you want to easily acccess your budget from your finger tips. Another app that I recently discovered is Stessa. I use that to manage my investment property expenses.
If you aren’t an app person then a simple spreadsheet is definitely the way to go. Check these out and let me know which ones you like or if you have others you prefer more in the comments.
Step 3: Follow these tips
Set up a savings goal and try to achieve it every month
When you reach your savings goals, celebrate every time
Treat Budgeting Day like Pay Day or Friday - enjoy and celebrate it
Budget once weekly to start, and transition to once a month when you get the hang of it (I budget weekly and call it “Financial Fitness Friday” because I like it so much)
Create a calendar and put it somewhere visible, schedule your budgeting day, pay day, and bill paying day and stick to the schedule
Plan ahead as much as possible
Don't spend more than you earn
Automate your bills and your savings
Set up a separate savings account to keep your hard earned extra money
Make sure you have adequate emergency savings for a rainy day
Pay off debt before spending extra money
After reading this I hope you reconsider depositing your lotto funds into your bank account. It is more likely that saving that money and putting it aside every month will do more for you in the logn run than buying a lotto ticket. Did you the chances of winning the lotto are 1 in 302.5 million? I’ll take my chances with my savings account, thank you very much. I would consider myself a pretty positive person and I’m pretty positive that I won’t win the lotto. However, if you want to take the chance then be my guest.
I hope you enjoyed this quick little article and the tips I shared. If you know someone who would benefit from Budgeting then why not share this article with them?
Until next time,
Amanda
Please note: I am not a financial planner or adviser, the advice I give here is based on my own experience and what has worked for me. Please consult a professional financial advisor before taking any action. Thank you.