Six Things That Have Helped Me Improve My Financial Behavior
http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/06/6-steps-to-improving-your-financial-behavior.html
Guest post from Rebecca of Spirit Led Mom
It’s a proven fact: inflow must be equal to outflow. If not, there could be a crisis, such as a foreclosure or repossession, or your family could starve.
One of the few ways to have a good financial future is to set up a good budget and stick to it.
However, setting up the budget, isn’t always the hard part. Deciding where to spend the money (and then sticking to it) is usually more difficult.
I’ve learned from my group at church called Celebrate Recovery, that the first thing we have to do is admit we have a problem. If you’ve always been living paycheck to paycheck and bouncing checks or using credit cards, then you most likely have a spending problem.
I was in denial for a long time until I realized I had a lot of debt. I was not one to bounce checks or even reach the point of foreclosure and I’ve always paid my bills on time, but my issue was that I felt it was okay to have certain debts like credit cards and car loans.
Here are 6 things that have helped me improve my financial behavior:
- Write out the budget, either on a piece of paper or on a spreadsheet.
- Try a cash envelope system.
- Get rid of temptations to spend such as credit cards, debit cards, or cash in your wallet.
- Pay bills and buy necessities first.
- Get a support group of people who are doing the same thing as you
- Find a mentor who’s already gotten their spending under control.
