Are you ready to start working on your finances, but have no idea how to get started? Keep reading.
The first step in the process of improving your financial health and beginning your financial journey to improve your finances is to get all of your bills together and “write” them down so you can have a full picture of your finances. This “writing” can be with pen/pencil and paper, a spreadsheet, or Post-its on the wall. Whatever works for you. Get it all together and figure out what that total is. This includes that one bill you always forget about it because it’s only due once a year, and the trash bill you pay quarterly.
I did mine, and that is what this post’s image is at the top: $3,711.26 for May. If I don’t even leave my house for the entire month, this is the amount I still expect to have to pay out. PSA: Don’t be like me kids. As a single person, this number is a bit ridiculous. But that’s why we are all here together. I acknowledge this and we’re moving on.
The second step is to write out your expenses. Since I am all over the place with this, rather than force it, or make unrealistic guesses (you will probably underestimate your spending if you try to guess), I am just going to keep track of everything and write my total expenses at the end of the month.
The third step would be to figure out a budget once you have these two numbers in place. Since I don’t have full actual numbers yet, I am modifying this step a bit. You can do whatever works best for you; in my case, it is easier for me to budget per paycheck, rather than looking at the whole month. Note: if you paycheck budget, you still need to figure out what needs to be paid each month so you do not miss anything.
In my case, I am paid twice a month at my full-time job. Here’s what my budget for the first paycheck of May looks like:
The purple numbers are leftover balances from last month.
Here are my S.M.A.R.T financial goals for the month:
- Drive at least once each week to bring in additional income.
- Comparison shop my car insurance rates because my policy renews in June.
- Have at least three “no spend” days this month. (For me, no spend is no money movement at all, not even bills.)
If you aren’t familiar with S.M.A.R.T goals, you can read more here: https://take2andcallme.com/2019/03/today-is-january-1-part-deux
While these three initial steps have been done together, it can be a bit overwhelming if you are new to this. Feel free to break them into separate steps. If you’ve never really looked at your finances before, this can be quite emotional and/or eye-opening. You didn’t get here overnight and you won’t get out overnight.
You can do this. WE can do this. Let’s get it.