Hey girl!
Hope the month of January has been going great. If you have read my blog post on my 2018 New Years Goals you might be aware that one of my goals for this year is to pay off half if not more than half of my debt… car loan, student loans, etc.
Budgeting and managing money in your 20s is a crazy thing. Like you want to be young and do all of these things like travel and have closet filled with beautiful cloths.
But in reality most of us don’t have the types of careers that allow for us to have these luxuries because of it we have to learn to manage our money so that we can enjoy things like this.
Truth be told when we graduate high school we should take a finance class to really know how to handle our finances.
In my last semester of college I decided to take matters into my own hands and signed up for a personal finance class (scared out of my mind that I wouldn’t know what to do with my money).
Here are some valuable types that I have learned from life and also from that personal finance class.
01. Write how much you are spending
For a whole month write down everything that you are spending. From buying groceris, gas in your car, bills, going out to the movies, buying a chocolate bar, coffees EVERYTHING.
I keep a small notebook with me and in it I separate by writing at the very top, what store, the amount, and if it was a need or a want. I keep this notebook with me so I don’t forget to write everything down and at the end of the month I get a clear picture of were all of my money is going.
Once you have written everything down start making a budget.
02. Make a budget
It doesn’t have to be overly complicated. You can start of by writing down roughly how much you are going to be making that month. Ive worked a retail job before so I know my hours weren’t set in store like other peoples job and my paycheck varied every time.
So write a rough estimate of how much you think you will be making that month.
Once you know how much you will be making start writing down how much money is going to be leaving. This can be “fixed” bills like rent, car payment, insurance, gas etc these are things that are non negotiable and they have to be payed month by month.
Make sure you know how much money you will be needing that month to cover the daily expenses.
This is when that list from step one comes in handy. Now your going to see how much money you do have left that is for spending money.
Also, with the list you’ll be able to see the things that are labeled want. Maybe you spend too much money on coffees, you can start seeing were most of your money is going and where you can cut back on.
03. Finally, when you have a budget stick to it
It can be so tempting to go out and buy a new pair of shoes of a new outfit. But if you are aware that you are going to be using that money towards maybe a trip or for the holidays to to treat your family or to pay of student loans like myself. It becomes easier to say no to things like that. Because you know your working towards something and that money is going to help you get closer to that goal.
Side Note: This is just a quick over view to finances. Im aware that its very intimidating to graduate high school or even college and have little or no knowledge of how to spend our money wisely and it’s something that were expected to know. I know I felt that way.
This year, I want to make it a year of mindful spending.
I want my money to be used towards building my dreams. I want to travel, I want to be debt free, I want to reward myself with a good cup of coffee from local coffee shops. In order to do that I have to be mindful of how I spend my money and remind myself that Im working towards my goals.
