I saw a post that said today was like Christmas. Many of us woke up to snow on the ground and stimulus checks in our bank accounts.
The only difference is that Christmas lasts twelve days and we have no idea how long this adjustment will last.
Do you have a plan? Or is you plan to just survive until “things get back to normal”?
This is a great time to choose “opportunity” over “crisis”. Now is the time to invest in yourself and learn all the things you should have been taught before being released out into the world.
Many people ignore budgeting because it is not a “fun” thing to do (unless you are a numbers nerd like me 
😉 ), but it is necessary if you want to reduce the fear and uncertainty that comes with just surviving from one “paycheck” to the next.
So, here is today’s challenge.
Take out a sheet of paper (or you can do this in Excel)
Divide the paper into four sections (in Excel you can use columns A, B, D, E, G, H, J, and K.
Set your timer for 10 minutes
Start writing down everyone you owe money to in the lower left square, who owes you money in the upper left square, everything you own in the upper left square, how much you pay each month in the lower right square, and income sources in the upper right square. (for Excel, column A will be who owes you or what you own, column D will be everyone you owe, column G will be money coming in, and column J will be money going out)
Still have time? Start writing down dollar amounts next to all the names. Estimates are okay. How much do you pay each month? How much comes in? What is the value of what you own? How much are you owed? How much do you owe? (Columns B, E, H, and K in your Excel spreadsheet)
Now total everything.
If you do not have exact amounts you can estimate for now and take the time later to look up and fill in more accurate numbers. The important thing is that you now have an idea.
Often, once you have committed to just doing 10 minutes you will keep going until it is done. That is great. But, if that does not happen, set aside 10 minutes tomorrow to continue.
Because here is the cold, hard truth: unless you know what you have to work with you will continue to be one paycheck away from disaster. This is simply NOT something you can ignore.
Let’s make it through this as best we can, take the time to learn these life lessons, and set ourselves up so it will never be a problem in the future. (total credit to Jenna Harrison for that one!)