Ever feel like everyone else has money and savings and you cannot figure out why you do not?
Believe me, you are not alone! This is a very common question.
The first thing I do when my clients bring this concern to my attention is to remind them that they do not need to compare themselves to anyone else. There are a lot of reasons why people are in different places financially and sometimes what we see or hear is not reality. The only person you need to be concerned with is you.
Then we discuss the available options that work for their lifestyle and situation.
Most of the time it comes down to priorities and mindfulness.
What do I mean?
If you want to have savings, are you making saving a priority? Do you move your savings from your general checking account to a savings account as soon as the funds are deposited in your account or do you wait to see what is left over after everything else is paid?
You want to have a plan for your money before it is earned. Decide on how much you are going to allocate to each account.
If you are using the Income Allocation Method, you will move an equal amount (aiming for 10% each) into each of the following accounts: Savings, Investing, Play, Giving, Education. The remaining 50% stays in the general checking account for bills. If you want more information on these accounts, please either DM me or check out my post on this method.
If you have a budget, make sure it includes setting some aside for each of these accounts. You want to be sure you are setting up yourself for future success and growth.
If you are using the envelope or jar systems, know in advance how much you will be withdrawing for each category.
Regardless of how you do it, make it a priority to pay yourself first, before the money starts going everywhere else. No excuses. No exceptions.
The second part of the equation is mindfulness.
Have you ever looked back at your receipts to see just how much you buy in little, insignificant purchases?
This can be an eye opening experience. A candy bar here, a drink there, a quick bite at a fast food place… it adds up quickly!
A simple way to increase your mindfulness of these purchases is to take out your grocery and gas money in cash. Keep one envelope for your grocery money and one envelope for gas money.
It is amazing how much more mindful you are of how much you There have actually been studies about how much more aware you are of how much you are spending- and how much less you spend- when you pay in cash.
Usually, once these two areas are addressed, my clients are amazed at how quickly they start to feel like they have more money- and how quickly their savings start to grow.
If you want to learn more about money- how to have more, what to do with it, and how to give your children a jump start to success- email me about my 8 module self-paced program for women who want to have 6-12 months of expenses in savings, plan for retirement on their terms, and create generational wealth. It comes with 1:1 and group support and never ends so you can keep going deeper into the lessons until you know everything you want to know.