Tag Archives: priorities

The Importance of Big Wins When Saving Money

airstream 2I regularly read and keep up with a handful of personal finance blogs. Maybe I’ve just had a bad attitude, but it seems that a few of them have taken a turn towards the self-righteous as of late. Of course, I’m not speaking about all personal finance blogs, Anna from And Then We Saved is my girl.

I write about saving money and living in an Airstream because I still want to live life. And to do so, I make priorities. Living in a big McMansion isn’t my priority. Hell, living in a real home isn’t even my priority. I save my money so I can travel, see the world and yes, actually live life because one day, I might not be able to do so. I don’t want to look back on my life and have any regrets. I don’t want to regret not seeing the world while I am young. I don’t want to regret not being able to dance the tango (or a really bad version of it) with my husband in Buenos Aires or climb the Great Wall of China.

Sure, I’ll budget for things, like my upcoming road trip, but I don’t budget for every little thing. It’s not sustainable. I pick my battles. I might employ a few weird ways to save money, but I don’t employ all of them. I can’t make everything my priority. I have a 9-5 (well, actually a 12-9), family obligations, I’d like to see my friends at some point and I try to make a little extra dough on the side.

None of us are perfect. Even those who give advice on personal finance. We all have those days where a $1.25 trip to the vending machine for peanut M&Ms is literally the only thing that saves our sanity. But what’s more important are your priorities. If I’ve learned anything on my personal finance journey, it’s that to save money, you need to focus on big wins. Living life in an Airstream is rent-free. And that’s my biggest win. It’s not taking Navy showers or turning all the lights out after 9pm. (I don’t do either of those, btw.)

Focusing on those big wins makes our life easier. It’s the big wins that really matter.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

 

How to Deal With Your Finances and Stay Sane

how to deal with your finances

Photo by Zach Klein on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/zachklein/54389823/)

Personal finance makes me want bury my money in mason jars and go back the good ol’ trade system. But I’m not a skilled digger and money makes the world go round. If you don’t learn about it, you’ll get screwed over by someone or some corporation that knows more about it than you do. Hashtag truth.

That’s why this year my personal goal has been to learn more about my money and to actually save it. Maybe that’s also why this year has been one of the most frustrating times of my life. 🙂 As I sat on hold with the bank yet again… I thought I’m going to lose it. I’m going to end up yelling at this poor person on the other end and I’m going to pull out all of my money. But I didn’t do that because over the last year I’ve learned some pretty good coping tools for money frustrations.

1. Prepare for phone calls
You may already know that a simple phone call to your service providers could help you to save money on all kinds of bills– cable, internet, maybe even rent! And don’t forget to call your bank to get overdraft fees and other outrageous bank fees leveraged too. Just make sure you always have a plan for the conversations, so they go your way. Above all, remain calm and prepare to walk away, if necessary. You don’t really need cable anyway. (Ramit Sethi from I will Teach You To be Rich has some great scripts for those difficult phone calls.)

2. Keep pictures of your end-goal in appropriate places
Do you get stressed about money when you are sitting at your desk and balancing your checkbook? Keep a picture of your end-goal on your desk. Do you get stressed just looking in your wallet for cash? (I do!) Keep a picture of your financial end-goal in your wallet. By having pictures of that dreamy financial end-goal in strategic places you’ll create a quick comfort, you’ll be reminded of the goal, and it might even curb your spending.

3. Remember that saving is a journey
Patience, in general, is so, so hard. It can be even harder with saving because we don’t see those immediate rewards. Buying your lunch can be so much easier and temporarily more rewarding than saving that $10. By changing your mindset about saving, and learning to recognize that even the littlest bits count, you’ll reach your financial goals much faster.

4. Break up your financial to-do list into manageable chunks
This is a life-tip, but getting super motivated and creating a giant to-do list of stuff to do can actually hinder your progress. Make your financial to-do list manageable by breaking it into smaller chunks. Complete one small thing on your list every day. Be happy that you completed something and avoid being paralyzed by the stress of too many to-dos.

5. Talk about it
For many, money is a taboo talking point, but ya need to get it out. Worrying about money but not talking about it is a sure-fire recipe for a heart attack. Find someone you feel comfortable talking to, whether it be a relative, friend or psychiatrist and let it out.

6. Practice affirmations
Affirmations can seem silly and maybe even a little narcissistic. But don’t discount them! Say an affirmation enough and you’ll start to believe it. (Here’s an example one: “Every day I am attracting and saving more money.” But my favorite affirmation of all time is this little girl’s affirmation. After I saw her video I started adding “I can do anything good!” to my affirmations.

7. Meditate or pray about it
Pray about your money issues, if you are into that. If not, meditate about it. Meditation has made me a calmer and overall nicer person. It’s given me clarity about my money issues that I would have never reached on my own. And the best thing about meditation? It’s free!

8. Recognize your triggers and avoid them
Just going into Target triggers my impulse to spend, so I avoid Target. If I must, must go I bring my husband along and tell him to monitor my spending. Recognize when your finance habits get out of control. Do your spending habits swirl out of control during the holidays? Try a handmade holiday instead. Do you spend a ton of money on beauty products? Find ways cut your beauty routine. Make it into a game if you must! Just avoid those triggers!

9. As my life coach, Suze Orman says, “People first, then money, then things.”
I love Suze Orman, not only does she give sound money advice, she’s also compassionate. I love her sign-off, “People first, then money, then things.” Once you have your priorities straight, your finances are much easier to handle.

So how do you deal with your finances and stay sane? I’d love to hear your tips in the comments!

love,
melanie