You say you know where your money goes and don’t need everything written down to keep up with it? I issue you this challenge. Keep track of every penny you spend for one month, and I mean every penny.
You will be shocked at what the itty-bitty expenses add up to. Take the total you spent on just one unnecessary item for the month, multiply it by 12 for months in a year, and multiply the result by 5 to represent five years.
That is how much you could have saved AND drawn interest on in just five years. That, my friend, is why we all need a budget.
If we can get control of the small expenses that don’t matter to the overall scheme of our lives, we can enjoy financial success.
The little things do count. Cutting what you spend on lunch from five dollars a day to three dollars on every workday saves $10 a week… $40 a month… $480 a year… $2400 in five years…. plus, interest.
See what I mean… it IS the little things, and you still eat lunch every day, AND that was only one place to save money in your daily living without doing one thing you need. There are a lot of places to cut expenses if you look for them.
Set some specific long-term and short-term goals. There are no wrong answers here. If it’s important to you, then it’s important period.
If you want to be able to make a down payment on a house, start a college fund for your kids, buy a sports car, take a vacation to Aruba… anything… then that is your goal and your reason to get a handle on your financial situation now.
While budgeting is not a small number game in the overall strategy, those small amounts add up and aid in the big-picture budget process. If you require a budget tool for a nominal cost, visit BUDGET.
If you have any questions on the importance of having a rational budget or require assistance, don’t hesitate to contact me directly, and for those outside of the metro-Nashville areas, seek a qualified fee-only Registered Financial Consultant (RFC) near you.
